Stuck in a Parallel Dimension With You
by Haine-chan
Summary: Ashley gets sucked into her TV while watching Pokemon and thinks it's all fun and games; that is, until Team Rocket comes along! "Sure, it's great to leave your real life and have a ball in the world of Pokemon! Just as long as you get home for dinner."
1. Of All the Things to Be Obsessed With

Stuck in a Parallel Dimension With You

Summary: This is what happens when you get sucked into Pokemon through your TV. It won't get rolling until a couple chapters later.

Chapter 1

Of All the Things to Be Obsessed With…

I sat at my TV, staring in amazement as the beginning theme for Pokemon came on. I smiled, a silly, goofy thing, and squealed to myself. Yes, I know what you're thinking; why would a fifteen year old like me want to watch a children's anime that went out five years ago? Simple: I need a life. I know everyone thinks that; all I talk about is Pokemon. I recently bought HeartGold and I beat it in four days. Obsessive? Yes. Crazy? Not yet.

As soon as I saw the recap for the last episode, I started jumping up and down. In a matter of minutes, the new season would start; it was all about returning to the Johto region and battling Team Rocket again. For most people, they would've shut the thing off and started playing Monopoly or something. I didn't mind; the creators had given the Team Rocket Executive's names and actual lives—not to be mixed up with the old games, where they all looked the same. Some of them were even cute…

"Ashley!" my mom called from the kitchen, "What are you doing up there? It sounds like there's an elephant in your room!"

"Not an elephant, mom," I hollered as I directed my attention back to the screen. I couldn't take her constant yelling in a time like this! Not when they were about to introduce the Executives to the ever-lame Ash and co.!

"Come down here; your sister wants to play with you," she said even louder this time.

She wanted to play at a time like this?! Any other time, I would've grinned and bore it but now was not the time! I could turn into a caged animal just set loose when it came to Pokemon!

"_Now_, Ashley!" she bellowed again, the annoyance clear in her voice.

"C'mon, Ashley!" I heard Hilary, my kid-sister whine, "I wanna play Barbie!"

_Not those things again…_I grimaced as I remembered the last time she had wanted to play with Barbie, that it had resulted in being forced into a dress and wearing make-up that made me look like Frankenstein's wife for the remainder of the day. Many embarrassing photos had been taken and, thankfully, hadn't been posted on Facebook to humiliate me further.

"Dad!" I yelled frantically as the time drew near for the part I'd been waiting weeks for started to materialize.

"Ashley, listen to your mother." he said blandly.

"Thanks for the help, dad," I muttered, ignoring the commands I was being given.

"Right now, young lady!"

I turned my attention back to the screen as I saw the Executives come into the picture. I smiled again and ignored the real world. Ash, Dawn and Brock were cornered in some kind of abandoned building while the four Executives glared at them. In the corner, Team Rocket's own Jessie and James quivered behind a crate.

"Who are you guys?" Ash asked nervously.

"And what are you up to?" Misty added, equally nervous.

I felt nervous watching this!

"You shouldn't be asking the questions," Athena (otherwise known as Ariana) grinned, folding her hands over her chest.

"We should be," laughed Lambda (Petrel). The group huddled closer together.

"By the way," Lance (Proton [which, may I add is a lame excuse for a name]) "how did you twerps get in here, anyway? This is a guarded building."

"Why keep it guarded when there's nothing of value here?" Brock said calmly. Ash and Misty shot him a look.

"That's classified, kid." Athena snapped. Brock shut up and looked at the floor.

"Besides," Apollo (Archer) said, "we don't want you meddling kids interfering with our plans, now do we?"

"What plans?!" Ash said.

"A plan…" All four Executives turned to the screen. Their eyes stared straight at me! Was that some kind of ploy the animators used to get into the episode? I was starting to freak out when the doorknob jiggled. My mom was coming in! Just when it was getting good!

"Ashley! I've been yelling at you for an hour now! Get out of there or I'll drag you out!"

I cringed as my mind turned to the illusion, which was Mom's torture. She would drag me out by my ears, wash my mouth out with soap (which is really irrelevant, but she thinks it works) and 'slap some sense into me' which basically meant I was banished from even thinking about Pokemon for a minimum of a year. Agony! If only she knew the sheer terror of her own carefully chosen words.

"Which starts right about…" Lance continued as they all looked at these watches that were concealed in their sleeves.

The door started to open!

My mom yelled; "RIGHT—!"

"Now." All four said. Before I could stop the opening door and the hurricane, which was my mom from barreling into my room, a swirl of purple-ish light came out from the TV and enveloped me. I started to freak out and I screamed as it dragged me right through the glass screen and into the episode! This was either really good or really bad. All I heard was my mom yelling

Finally, after all of the confusion and bruises, I landed on the ground with a large thud. I looked around and realized I was in the warehouse that was in the anime! I noticed Ash, Misty and Brock huddled together against the wall, Jessie and James staring at me like I was in a chicken suit and the four Executives grinning widely at me.

Oh, snap, I thought as I smiled weakly.

Probably going to go with really bad.

Sorry it was so short, I had to get my point across in a short amount of words. I hope this is as good as it sounded when I thought of it!


	2. Awkward Silences and Escape Plans

Chapter 2

Awkward Silences and Escape Plans

Falling on your butt in front of bewildered anime characters that've never seen your face before isn't really a good way of introducing yourself. Better yet, make that the worst. I rubbed my back and stood up, stretching out all of the kinked muscles. Turning around to stare at the Executives, I noticed the awkward silence. So, being who I was, I broke it with the one thing I always did.

"Awkward," I said. Ash blinked and started to come back to life. In a matter of seconds, he would start asking stereotypical questions; "Who are you?" "Where did you come from?" "Why did you just say 'awkward'?" I knew the show so much I could literally predict his every move. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same about Team Rocket. All they did was smile. It was like it was a spin-off of a horror movie.

"W—what—but you, and then they—" Ash was stuttering as he tried to piece together the last five seconds. I let him rant for a minute and then he calmed down. "Who are you?"

I laughed. "Is that the first thing you ask everyone you meet? Or is it to battle? Because I'm stuck between the two." I heard a snicker from Petrel. I turned and raised an eyebrow. "This was all fun, guys, but my mom wants to kill me and my sister wants to torture me with Barbie's, so could you, uh, please take me back through my TV back to the real world? Pretty please?"

"Sorry," Archer said, "but that's not possible; this is the real world."

"That's a load of crap." I scoffed. "One second, I'm relaxing—okay, make that gushing—over my TV when you guys haul me through the screen—which, may I add, is IMPOSSIBLE—and now you're saying I can't get back?"

"Exactly," Ariana finished.

"Hold on a minute," Brock, the ever-poignant voice of reason asked, "You're saying that you were watching your TV and then you landed here without a clue as to why?"

"Basically, yeah," I replied. "Which reminds me," I glared at Archer in particular, and asked something I'd completely forgot about. "What was that plan of yours?"

Archer smirked and looked at the watch I'd seen on the TV just a few minutes ago and it beeped. He then lowered his hand to his belt, which held three pokeballs. He snapped the middle one off and raised his arm. _Oh, shoot—_

"Houndoom, go," he said as he carelessly tossed the pokeball onto the ground in front of him. Light burst out of it and a Pokémon that reminded me of a very pissed off Pitbull came out and growled. "Flamethrower, Houndoom." I ducked and covered my head—it was my instincts telling me not to get my hair burned to a crisp—and realized it wasn't me he was aiming for; it was Ash.

"Ash, look out!" Misty yelled frantically as they cowered at the ball of flame that grew nearer and nearer with each second.

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" he said as the little yellow creature grunted and released a charge of electricity. It nullified the flamethrower, but another attack was coming right behind it. He was going to get his butt burned to a crisp! I had to do something.

Yes, I know what you're thinking: Why would you help Ash of all people? Why wouldn't you let him burn to death?! I am a very emotional person, letting them totally take me on a ride; and I'm not so good around blood, so I had to intervene. Besides, it wasn't like Misty was smart enough to bring out her Starmie to douse the flames. This was after all a child's anime.

"Searra, come on out and use Water Pulse!" The Seadra came out of the pokeball and water came streaming out of its mouth, dousing the flames. "Now use Brine!" The Pokémon squirted a blast of water directly at the Houndoom. Archer noticed this and gritted his teeth. Was he expecting me to be on his side? Sure, I liked Team Rocket, but that didn't mean I couldn't save the life of a protagonist (even if he annoys the crud out of me). The Houndoom dodged the attack.

"Houndoom, counter with Crunch!" he yelled as the dog-like animal bounded towards Searra, with fangs pursed, ready to take a bite out of her.

"Searra, use Agility and then Bubblebeam!" She ducked out of the Houndoom's way and landed a hit to its back. It keeled over in pain and was down for the count.

Ash (who had been bracing the impact) lowered his arms and blinked in astonishment. He must've been thinking 'what is this girl doing? First she tells me off, and then she saves my life?! Is she good or bad?'

Archer, on the other hand, grunted and gave me the death glare. Creepy! "Return!" he yelled, as he stared down at his now lifeless Pokémon.

"Wow, I never knew battling could be so enthralling!" I said, "C'mon back, Searra." She replied by nodding her humongous head and disappeared into the pokeball with a quick flash of red light. I sighed. If only the games were this cool!

I turned to see the Executives staring me down again. Archer resumed his cool composure.

"It seems like our plan has a few flaws," he said. He turned his head to Ash as he gulped. "You should consider yourself lucky; if it weren't for her, you'd have been nothing but a pile of ash right now." I had to smuggle a laugh of irony. Archer turned his attention to me again as I lowered my hand and stared right back at him. "You, on the other hand, should consider where your values lie: they may help you in the future." And with that, Petrel released a giant Weezing who, in the old Pokémon style, commanded him to use smokescreen, completely engulfing the warehouse in a hazy, purple fog. Maniacal laughter echoed through the building as the Executives made their getaway. Ash and co. began hacking like they had smoked a pack of cigarettes while I decided to use this as my escape!

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it looked, because, being as it may, that smoke was hard to see through! I went on my hands and knees and started crawling to the exit. But then I realized I had no idea where the exit was! So I did what was logical; I released my Butterfree, Antoinette, who used gust to blow away the fog and clear a path for me to make my exit. As soon as I reached the door, the fog had begun to lift and I heard a cry from the back of the room. "Hey! Miss! Come back!"

No way was I going on some kind of lame adventure with a bunch of ten-year-olds.

As I exited the building, I realized it was some kind of abandoned warehouse in the middle of a ghost town. _Mahogany. _I thought. Being an avid Pokémon player myself, I had taken the time to memorize the locations of all the towns and buildings of significance in the region of Johto. It wasn't hard; you started off in New Bark, then went to Cherrygrove, got sidetracked after seeing Mr. Pokémon and—

"What were you doing in that building?" a voice asked from behind me. I spun around to notice a man in a flowing cape, turtleneck, boots, and spiky red hair glaring at me with anger in his eyes. "Are you part of Team Rocket?"

"N-no!" I stuttered, trying to find the right words to explain what had just happened. "It's not like that at all!" He probably thought I was a grunt or something!

"So you're saying you had nothing to do with all of that purple smoke?" he continued, walking towards me slowly, "And the screams? You were, after all, the first one out." _You don't even know the half of it._

"That may be true, but—"

"So you _are_ in cahoots with them!" he said triumphantly, "I knew it! I knew by your attire that you had to have a part with that group of thieves! You must've been the one who kidnapped Ash and the others, and you must've escaped using that smoke. Your Butterfree would've been capable of doing that—"

"Hey! Don't go bad-mouthing Antoinette for no good reason! If you had any insight into Pokémon at all, you would know that Butterfree can't learn smokescreen! Besides, my clothing doesn't look like a grunt's outfit at all! And I don't even know who Ash is!" _Complete crap. Even a two-year-old can say who Ash is._

"Oh, really? Then can you explain the lack of any other colour _besides_ black?"

I looked down at what I was wearing; a black Aeropostale shirt with a pair of beaded wings on the back, dark-wash jeans and black high-tops. Darn it, I did look like one of them! He must've seen the look on my face because he then smiled and snapped his fingers.

"Aha! So now you're admitting to the fact that you are a part of that crime syndicate!"

"I didn't admit to anything!"

"You just noticed that you dress like them!"

"That doesn't prove anything! I could just like the colour black!"

"Or maybe you're an undercover spy sent by Team Rocket to experiment at Lake Rage!"

"What?! Where did you get that idea from?!"

"Isn't it obvious? We _are_ at Lake of Rage _and _you just exited Team Rocket's secret warehouse on the shore!"

I turned to see the little shack that must've been the entrance to that dingy warehouse I'd just been transported to. And it was on the shore of the lake, behind a few trees. It just looked like some kind of old tool shed. But, then again, it _did_ look suspicious...

"Just because I came out of that building doesn't mean I'm in some kind of pact with Team Rocket."

"Then prove it."

"Fine!" I had had enough of this guy's snarky remarks! How could he possibly think that I was a part of that team?! I thought of only one way to settle this feud between foes: "DUEL!"

"Alright, have it your way! Dragonite, let's go!" Out of a pokeball came the majestic dragon Pokémon. It grunted in pleasure as it readied itself for battle.

_Alright, Dragonite is a dual Dragon and Flying type. It would have quadruple weakness to Ice moves. I have just the thing!_

"Let's show this guy we're aren't nearly as shady as we come off as! Show 'em what I mean, Yukimenoko!"

The Froslass leaped out of its pokeball and stood in front of me. _Oh, yeah! No way am I going to lose to such a pompous, full-headed jerk!_

"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!" The Pokémon leaped up in the air and its claws shone with a bright light.

"Use Double Team!" Yukimenoko made copies of herself and surrounded the enemy.

"Use Dragon Rage to try and pick out the real one!"

"Oh, shoot!" Before I could try and avoid it, his Dragonite had given a good blow to Yukimenoko. She toppled onto the ground with a _thud_. "Ah! Yuki, are you still able to battle?"

"Fros," she nodded as she hoisted herself back up. "Now, use Ice Shard!" Fragments of ice started to pelt the dragon, making it collapse on the ground.

"Dragonite!" he called as he hovered over his Pokémon. "Are you okay?" Soon enough, the dragon nodded his head and started to fly again. _Damn, this guy has a lot of stamina if he can survive and ice move like that._

"Dragonite, use Outrage!"

"Counter it with Ominous Wind!"

The two attacks collided in the air. The Outrage was too powerful and it smashed into Yukimenoko, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. _And to think, I thought he knew nothing about elemental types. But he knew not to use Hyper Beam on Yukimenoko because she's immune to it! Outrage is his second best attack. It's not lacking in power._

"This can't be the end!" I cried frantically as I prayed she wasn't seriously injured. I couldn't lose to such a jerk!

"Sad to say, it seems like your Froslass is down for the count," the man said as he started walking towards me, "Now it seems like your days in Team Rocket are about to end."

A flicker of movement came from Yukimenoko. Was she actually okay? She wasn't KO'd? I smiled. I knew she was a trooper! "I wouldn't start planning your victory party so soon, dude. My Yuki is more persistent then you take her for." She slowly got up and puffed out a breath of frosty air as she braced herself for another round.

"She may have survived that one, but after this, it's all over for you!"

_If I try and attack him, he'll just counter. And after that hit, I don't think Yuki will be able to take another one. But I have one secret weapon..._

"Let's end this, Dragonite! Use Outrage!"

As the attack came spiraling towards her, I put my plan into action. "Yukimenoko, use Destiny Bond!"

"What?!"

"Knowing what you do about types, you should be able to remember that this move happens when a Pokémon is about to faint by a direct hit! By activating it, it automatically brings the Pokémon who landed the move down with it!"

"How could that be?!"

As soon as the Dragonite knocked Yukimenoko out, it too fell to the ground, unconscious. I smirked. Yes, we had landed in a draw. But it was better than losing to the jerk. "Still think I'm a Rocket?"

"I must say, you have extremely powerful Pokémon," he said reluctantly as he returned his Dragonite. I followed suit by returning poor Yuki. "And you sacrificed your own Pokémon to take down mine. No Rocket I've run into would ever consider the very thought of losing their Pokémon to bring down mine." The man then walked over to me and smiled. "Besides, no grunt uses so a rare Pokémon as Froslass."

"Thanks for saying I'm not a retarded thief."

"You're saying you don't like Team Rocket?"

"Don't get me wrong—their Executives are an entirely different topic. But the grunts? They get annoying after three battles."

"Wait—you've battled them before?"

"Yeah, al the time!" Like when I went through Azalea, I had to make sure they didn't cut off their tails for a profit."

"You were the one who disbanded them back there?"

"Yeah!"

"And to think I thought you were one of them because of what you wore!"

"And I thought you were a total jerk because of that assumption!"

We both laughed and then turned our gazes to the ground. The tension between us was getting awkward.

"So, uh—"

"Yeah, um—"

"I'd better—"

"Hey, do you mind if I—"

"What?"

"Why exactly were you in there anyways?"

"Well, if I told you the whole story, then you'd think I was as crazy as those grunts."

"I'm open to craziness."

"Oh, well, then—"

"Lance!" I turned again to see that Ash and co. had made it out of there. Brock was still coughing while Misty was brushing off her clothing.

"Hey, Ash," Lance smiled at him as he gallivanted down to us. Oh, shoot, I thought, so I was actually battling Lance the League Champion and I didn't get my butt kicked?!

Ash looked at me and sparked up with excitement. "Hey! You made it out of there okay! I thought you were stuck in there!"

"She was in there with you guys?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, she was the one who saved me from one of the Team Rocket Executives! Man, did she blow him away!"

"I now know from experience how that would've felt." Lance looked at me and grinned. I smiled back, a small blush spreading across my face.

"Anyways, you really helped us back there, and we kind of owe you—well, me in particular—so how about you come with us across Johto?"

I hesitated. Should I say yes and have to deal with Ash's compulsive behaviour to seek out Gym Badges? Or should I try and find my way around by myself? If I did, then I might get lost and run into those Executives again. But I'd probably run into them again with or without the others. I didn't think my reputation could take such a blow as following a ten-year-old around a 'quest' to prove his worth. I'd probably get sidetracked by something shiny, get kidnapped by Team Rocket, and then I'd have to deal with having Ash Ketchum save me. AGONY!

"Actually," I started as I shuffled away from the group. "I have to go over to Ecruteak—I have a few errands to run and—"

"But you just said you got here through your TV screen." Brock pointed out.

"I—shoot." I swore.

"Why would you want to go there anyways if you've never been in Johto before?" Misty asked.

"You've never been to Johto before?" Lance asked, looking at me confusedly. By the way I battled, he probably thought I'd mastered this region. But then again, I would've gone against him already and this awkward little scene wouldn't have happened...

"Well, I've seen maps and I have friends who've been here before and they filled me in on all of the hotspots around the region. And they said that in Ecruteak you could learn more about Ho-Oh and..."

"You're interested in Pokémon Legends?" Lance asked. _That was my last-minute excuse for going to Ecruteak. My real answer is that it's my favourite city, besides Blackthorn, of course._

"Ew, you like that old junk?" Ash said to my surprise. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that if you're going for that, then you'd be better off doing it on your own."

"What Ash means to say is that he's not that into tracking down legendaries and learning about old legends. He'd rather go and collect the Mahogany Gym Badge."

"Which reminds me," he said, "Let's go already! I need to get that Badge before the end of the day!"

"You won't make it there before the sun sets!" Misty argued as she chased after Ash, who had started to sprint down the path.

"Race you to it!"

And with that, the annoying kid and his company raced off into the sunset...

"Phew," I breathed. I shoved my hands in my pocket as I strolled slowly along the shore. "Onto Ecruteak!"

"You're not going alone," Lance said as he ran to catch up to me. "I'll escort you to the edge of Mahogany—I'm headed to Blackthorn anyways, so it'll be beneficial for the both of us."

"You sure I won't pull you down? Even after our battle?" I teased as I quickened my pace.

"Just because you got the best of me back there, doesn't mean I won't stay on the top of my game in the future."

"How about now?"

I sprinted ahead, gaining a good distance between us. He called out and I sprinted harder.

If only you could flirt all the time with cool champions and get away with it...

**Yes, this is a bit longer then my other chapter. But it was worth it, don't you think. And yes, Lance will be a little OOC at times, but isn't everyone? Thank you to the people who reviewed both users and anonymous ones. I really love it when I check my inbox and find positive feedback! Oh, and I don't own Pokémon. I forgot to add that! See you in the next chappie, peeps! Maybe TR will make a comeback after the previous encounter? Maybe Ashley will be sidetracked by something shiny?! All this and more in the next exciting chapter! And, no, there will not be much romance between Ashley and Lance. Take a breath of relief, fan girls. I'm not that mean. Or am I...? 0_0**


	3. Badly Timed Calls and Reunions

Chapter 3

Badly-Timed Calls and Reunions

My breath began to dwindle as the steps I took became smaller and smaller. Yes, I could run, but I'd never been good at sports; I hated the whole theme to begin with. And besides, you couldn't run from a Champion forever. I stopped running and bent over my knees, puffing and panting like a dog in the middle of summer. I took this time to take in my surroundings: tall trees, a pond or two, trainers who thought they were so cool, the edges of a building…

Buildings? That must mean that we're close to Mahogany Town. That didn't take too long. In the games, it feels like forever.

"Hey!" I heard Lance call out as he caught up to me at last. "Why'd you stop?"

"I had…to catch…my breath…" I panted as I sunk onto the ground. I clutched my stomach; a huge cramp was forming in my side. Oh great. How was I supposed to get to Ecruteak now?

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning down to my level.

"Yeah," I huffed, clutching my stomach tighter, "This happens all the time! I should've stopped five minutes ago."

"Are you going to be able to make it to Mahogany? Because if you can't walk, I can always carry you and—"

"N-no! You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really," I stuttered as I hoisted myself back up and started walking down the path.

"You don't have to go so fast!" Lance shouted after me as he dashed to catch up with my killer pace. After a couple of seconds he caught up to me. "It would be a good idea if we exchanged PokeGear numbers. You know, just in case we get split up or something happens in the future that we need to get in touch with one another."

"Yeah, sure," I said as I pulled out the pink PokeGear and registered his number. How did the League Champion have a PokeGear? Better yet, why did he need one? I wasn't about to ask, because as soon as I opened my mouth we had reached a little cliff. Lance, before I could yell out a warning, had already jumped off and was waiting for me at the bottom.

"H-how did you just do that?" I said as I gaped at the distance from the ground the cliff was. Sure, you might be thinking. 'Jump, stupid! You're not going to die!' But those things are higher than they appear in the games! It was, like, 30 feet! Alright, I'm exaggerating. More like 20...

"What?" Lance called, "Too high? It isn't really. Just close your eyes and jump."

"T-that I can't do," I replied as I started to slowly back away from the cliff and onto safer ground. "I'I think I'll pass."

"How are we supposed to get to Mahogany if you don't jump?"

"I'll j-just go through the building and meet you on the other side, okay?" I said as I neared the building.

"Whatever," he scoffed as he tapped his foot on the path impatiently.

I ignored his gesture and passed through the building that led to Mahogany.

As soon as I entered the building, two people in black uniforms surrounded me. They grinned widely as they made sure I had no chance to escape. The 'R' that was emblazoned on their uniforms said it all; more Team Rocket Grunts. This was a bad idea.

_I shouldn't have come through here!_ I mentally shouted at myself. _I know what happens when you pass through here in the games; they steal your hard earned money! Wait, I don't have any money! But that won't stop them from smuggling something off of me. I hope it's not my Pokémon! _

"Hey, girlie," one of them said as he sauntered over to me and shoved his grubby hand in my face, "You need to pay 1000 to get trough here. So fork it over."

"Sorry," I fake apologized, "I don't have any money."

"A likely story," the female one said, "Don't lie; we know you're a Trainer: just look at your belt. Six shiny pokeballs. And that means you must've battled some opponents who would've been willing to pay you. So hand it over, or we'll be forced to take desperate measures."

These guys were persistent! But how was I supposed to get away? Maybe I could get sucked back through my TV? I wasn't really prepared to go through torture, but it meant I could be spared the suffering then...

"Just because I have Pokémon, doesn't mean I'm a Trainer," I sassed as I tried to get out of the way so I could sprint out of there.

"Don't try and run; we've got you cornered." The male grunt said as he noticed my direction.

As soon as he said that I dashed to the door. But they saw that and the male one grabbed my wrist and yanked hard. I gasped at how much pain exuded from my wrist. Could he really be that strong? Or was he ticked at my resistance? I struggled to get out of his grip and I noticed him smiling.

"Let's see what we've got here…" he said as he stated to go through my belt-pack.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, going through my stuff uninvited like that?" I yelled as I tried to stop him from rummaging through my belongings.

"Hey, what's this?" he said as he pulled out my ipod. He let the grip on my wrist go a little as he examined the music player. I sprung into action. I ripped my hand from his and he gasped in horror as I kicked him in the crotch. My ipod clattered to the floor as the grunt keeled over in pain. I leaned down, scooped up the ipod and stuck my tongue out.

"No one touches my ipod and gets away with it!" I spat as I ran out the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" they yelled as they started to follow after me. And to think, I thought they were going to shrug their shoulders and say 'Aw, well, maybe next time!' I ran through the town as people yelled at me in surprise, as the grunts started closing in on me. I ran into a dead end—there was only water and it was too late to try and surf away. Then I noticed the entrance to Mt. Mortar. The perfect escape!

I dashed over to the cave and into the pitch black as the grunts tried to follow. I felt around for some kind of rock to hide behind, and found a mid-sized (at least it felt like mid-sized) boulder and wedged myself between that and the cave wall. The blackness itself was good enough on its own, but better safe than sorry. I was a fair distance away from the cave opening.

"Do you know which direction she went in?" I saw their shadows in the entranceway as they scanned the premises for me. They entered the cave and started to split up in two different directions. The one who grabbed me before was heading in my direction. I prayed the darkness would help to turn them off.

"I can't see a thing! She must've run trough to the other side!" the other one grunted as they started to head back the way they came. Phew! I shuffled to the side and a rock fell to the ground with a large _thud_. I sucked in a breath. I hoped they didn't come over here and find me! But all they did was shrug and continue talking.

"You don't think she was the girl Executive Proton wanted us to look out for, was it?"

Proton had given a warning to the grunts to look out for me? This was bad.

"She did have the appearance that fit the description, and she had no reason to want to give us what we wanted. That's what he said was important; after all, she _did _run off after their first attempt to get her to willingly comply with their master plan."

A master plan? Was that what they were talking about before I got sucked into the TV?

"What is the plan anyways?"

"That's not important right now; what is is that we call Executive Proton and tell him we've seen someone that might be the girl he's looking for."

This was really bad. If they told him they'd seen me outside Mahogany, they'd surely send a squadron of grunts to get me, not to mention torture me to get what they wanted. And it would be even worse if it was Proton himself that found me! What evil things could he do to me? He _was_ labeled the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket....

"Did you figure out what her name was?"

No. No, no, no, no! They couldn't know my name, I hadn't told it to them! _Calm down, they can't see you so you can't be found. Your name isn't known by anyone in this dimension, so you have no fear there, either. Besides, anyone could look like you. Anyone could have curly black hair and wear lots of black. They could even mistake you for another grunt!_

"I think I saw something engraved on the back of her Ipod when I tried to steal it," Oh NO! "it said property of Ashley Conrad."

_I think I'm going to die. It was such a stupid idea to have your name engraved on the back! Stupid free stuff!_

"That's our girl."

"How do you know?"

I suddenly heard a beeping noise coming from the entrance and figured that it was the grunt making the phone-call I had been dreading. They were going to call Proton and haul me in like some kind of criminal!

"He said that was her name."

"How did he know that?"

Yeah, how _did_ he know my name? I swore I didn't hint it to anyone back in the warehouse. But, the real question was, did they know it before I even came to Johto? And, if they did, what was really going on here?

"Quit asking questions and help me get these numbers right! Now, what was the code?"

"It was the numbers that corresponded with 'Hail Giovanni'."

That was a real shocker. Anything to get Giovanni to give them the light of day. Seriously, they should just go to Tohjo Falls and say 'Giovanni, take us back!' But life isn't that easy, is it?

"Oh, yeah."

A few more beeps and a dial tone started. After the second ring, someone picked up. "Yes? What is it? This had better be important, or you're fired!" Yep, that was Proton all right. He sounded irritable and less-than cheery as he waited for the response from the grunts. I could see that the female grunt was having a hard time controlling her voice, as she started to stammer. Beads of sweat started to trickle down her neck as she finally found her voice.

"P-Proton, sir? We h-have some information w-we would like to r-report."

"Go on with it already, I don't have all day,"

"We..." Don't know why we're calling, sorry to bother you on such a wonderfully sunny day such as this? "we've seen the girl you wanted us to have our eyes out for and have reason to believe she is hiding in Mt. Mortar!"

WHAT?!

I thought that they thought that I had reached the other side! That's why they didn't pay attention to the rock I dropped! Ooh, that was a bad mistake on my part. IF I had been more ninja-like and hadn't tripped the rock, then maybe this call wouldn't have taken place and I would've been home tasting soap on my tongue and—

"Really, now?" Proton said, a hint of amusement in his voice, "Where are you?"

"At the west entrance, s-sir."

"Hmm." He pondered, as the grunts flitted their gazes around the cavern. Their nervousness hadn't faded since the call had been made. I hoped he would yell 'You nimrods! How could a couple of grunts like you ever catch such a fast, beautiful girl?! Only Executives like me can catch her! And even that's a struggle...' Ah, the theatre of my mind! That would never happen though. If it did...well, that would work out in my favour! "Stay where you are. I'll call for back up t cover every exit. Make sure she doesn't come back out. We can't let her get away again."

"O-of course, sir,"

"And make sure to get that stutter looked after."

"Y-yes, s-s-sir," she finished as she hung up. I tried to smuggle a laugh, what a fail! Tough, I did feel bad for her. Proton came off as a very intimidating character. But, then again, I'd never really had to take orders from him.

"So we just stay here until the back-up comes?"

"I guess so."

_Brrrrrriiiiing. Brrrrrriiiiing._

My PokeGear started to go off.

"What was that?!"

"It must be her!"

OH MOTHER OF TOAST, I WAS SCREWED!

I bolted from my hiding spot and started to stumble in the darkness. I continually tripped and fell over numerous rocks before bringing out my Togetic, Toge-Toge and using Flash to illuminate the cave. In a spark of light, I finally saw where I was going. Unfortunately, so did the grunts. They yelled again for me to stop as they noticed me only a few feet in front of them. By this time, I was near the exit. I sprinted away and prayed that my lungs could hold out a little bit longer. I didn't want to be the next victim of Team Rocket's messed-up schemes. Would they cut off one of my legs, mistaking it for a Slowpoke tail? Would they try and make me conduct electricity to emit weird frequencies to make Magikarp evolve artificially?!

Then I realized I had to lose the grunts before I got out of the cave. I noticed a different exit that was pitch black instead of clear and ducked into it, pressing myself against the walls. I heard them barrel past and head out of the cave and into the sunlight. I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally checked the number. Lance. I flipped it open and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"WHY WEREN'T YOU ANSWERING?!" the voice yelled as I was blown back by the intensity. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD OR SOMETHING!"

"Calm down!" I said as I tried to get him to cool his jets. "I'm not dead, or else I wouldn't be talking, would I?"

"True, but you could've answered or even called me to let me know you were all right! For all I know, you could've been kidnapped by Team Rocket!"

"Well..." I said, "you've got the 'Team Rocket' part right..."

His tone turned volatile. "Where are you now?"

"Inside Mt. Mortar. A little while away from the exit."

"Why were they following you?"

"Well, when I went trough the building, these two grunts cornered me and tried to steal my money, but I didn't have any, so I ran and they followed and now I'm here."

"What else?"

"Whaddya mean, 'what else'?"

"I know there's more to this story."

"No there isn't."

"Don't you lie to me. Continue."

"Okay...then one of them called someone and then they started chasing me because you called me."

"Who did they call?"

"How should I know?"

"Tell me now!"

"Okay, okay! It was Proton, okay?!"

A silence grew between us as I continued to steady my breath.

"Proton." He repeated.

"Mm-hmm."

"Proton?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"PROTON?! OF ALL THE EXECUTIVES TO CALL,THEY HAD TO CHOOSE PROTON?!"

"What's so wrong with Proton?!" I yelled back.

"You don't realize what a predicament you're in, aren't you? If some grunts are after you because you forgot to pay some stupid payment, fine. If they try to catch you and chase you trough a cave, fine. But if an Executive who is labeled the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket is tracking you down and marking you as a target, that's not fine! It's also not fine that you don't seem to give anything!"

"He's just an Executive!"

"Just an executive?" he asked, "Do you think that Ho-Oh is just a Pokémon? Do you think a Gym leader is just another Trainer?"

"When you put it that way—"

"If they had called Petrel, that wouldn't have been a problem. Even Ariana wouldn't have been so bad. Maybe even Archer. But Proton....No. This is dangerous. So dangerous that you should be frightened for your life."

"Lance, you're scaring me."

"I should be. A normal girl would've paid the fine and walked away without any scars. But you had to as extraordinary as you can be and not only refuse to pay the fine, but also run away from them! Did you think they should've just shrugged their shoulders and said 'Aw, maybe we'll get the money from the next Trainer to walk by'?"

That was exactly what I thought of.

"Well, yeah..."

"Did you think that they wouldn't have realized you were hiding in the cave and called Proton?"

"No..."

"And did you think that Proton wouldn't send out hordes of grunts to capture you?"

"No...!"

"Did you even consider the fact that Proton might have something for you, not just based solely on missions?"

"What? No!"

"Did you think you could—?"

"STOP, LANCE!"

The phone went silent as I huffed into the phone. Instead of scared, I was infuriated. What gave Lance the right to go on about all of the mistakes I'd made in the past five minutes? I could play the Blaming Game, too! He was the one who decided to ditch me when I was too afraid to jump the cliff. He was the one who hadn't thought of the looming threat of Team Rocket. He hadn't come to see what was taking me so long when I didn't show up in five minutes. He wasn't the one who might have a thing for me!

Did I...just think that? Did I actually think that Proton felt something for me other than a mutual feeling of distaste for a girl like me? Was I returning the feeling...? I felt a slight blush spread across my face just thinking of him. His black hat, his unusually-coloured hair, his piercing teal eyes...

"I think you get the point." He said, breaking my chain of thought. "Do you think you'll be safe to hide out where you are?"

"I don't think so. I'm too close to the entrance."

"Okay..." he said as he tried to think of a back-up plan. "Why don't you get out of the cave and lay low around Route 42, all right?"

"I can do that."

"Okay. So you'll stay there until I can reach you or get someone to come and get you."

"Who would come and get me?"

"I'll think of someone."

"You'd better."

Another silence.

"Thanks...for calling, Lance."

"Just making sure you're not dead."

A forced chuckle.

"I'll try to keep myself alive."

"You'd better."

"Bye..."

"Oh, wait...!"

I paused above the off button.

"Yeah?"

"You aren't, you know, thinking of—"

"Nope. Not at all."

"Good."

"Okay, bye..."

"Good-bye."

"Wait, Lance—"

He'd hung up.

* * *

I sighed as I slid the phone back in my pocket. Man, was I ever screwed. First, I get into a ruckus with Team Rocket, then I told off by a Champion and then I realize I may be stranded for hours without food...? I needed a massage therapist. I snuck around the exit to the little cove I was in and sprinted to the exit.

The light was blinding. After being stuck in a dimly-lit cave for who-knows-how-long doesn't really do your eyes any good. All it did was to always use Flash when entering caves. I covered my eyes as I stumbled around the entrance to the cave. I took in my surroundings; water to my left, trees in front of me, cave behind me, Proton to my right—

Wait—Proton?!

I turned around to see Proton, arms folded, smiling at me wickedly as I gaped at him. How did he get here so fast?! How did he know what exit to guard? Why weren't there any other grunts with him?! Why was my breathing starting to get raspy?!

I could feel my eye bulge in surprise and my feet shuffle away from the looming Executive. Sure, if you were in my shoes at that time, you would've been thinking 'Hey! IT must be my lucky day! I'm standing in front of the coolest Executive in Team Rocket!' and I would've agreed with you, if I weren't stuck in a big web where I was the food for the big, scary spider, who just happened to be Proton in this predicament.

I gulped as he started to walk towards me. Naturally, I backed up.

"Well, well, the princess makes an appearance." he hummed as he noticed me backing away from him. He grinned as I kept going even after he stopped.

Whoa, back up—did he just call me 'princess'?

I didn't say anything as I noticed I couldn't back up anymore—I was pinned against the cold cave wall. _He was planning this, _I thought, _He intimidated you and you fell right into the web..._

"No words from the girl on everyone's mind?" he said after noting my lack of speech, "Fine, play mime all you like—you're going to have to open that little mouth of yours eventually." He took a step closer to me, blocking any chance of escaping. _He's nearing the prey._

My heart began to thud loudly as he covered the sun's rays that had been attacking me previously. I gasped as he leaned closer to my face. _Like an eclipse..._

"Come on, I know you want to say something to me. Questions you want to ask. Answers you want to hear. No need to be shy; it's just you and me."

Before I knew it, I started to blurt out the thoughts that had been ravaging my mind.

"How did you know where to find me? Why aren't there any stupid grunts with you? Why are you so close to me? Don't you know that Lance is going to save me?!"

Proton grinned and started to circle me. I pushed myself off of the wall and I stood in the middle of Proton's circle. _Snared._

"First of all, the grunts told be you were near the exit to the cave—they were positioned near Mahogany, after all."

_Stupid question to ask._

"Secondly, I knew I didn't need any grunts to find you—you aren't that big of a threat by yourself, are you?"

I growled a little at that. I had held my own against the League Champion, for Pete's sack! What gave him the initiative to start degrading me!?

"Thirdly, Lance isn't going to save you; I already took care of him."

"What do you mean, 'took care of him'?"

Proton smirked at my outburst. "You'll see soon enough."

"You forgot the other question." I pointed out.

Proton stopped circling me like a deranged vulture and strode towards me in a swift movement. Suddenly, I was pinned to the wall again, his face inches away from mine. His breath caressed my skin; it felt like he'd used Sweet Scent and sprayed it over my face, covering me and making me light-headed. My eyes drifted to his and I gasped. I saw a fire; a teal-coloured fire raging in his eyes. HE knew he was in control and he liked it. I was just feeding the flame. My heart hammered against my chest, threatening to explode.

"The last one?" he said as he twirled a lock of my hair. "I wanted to see you up close." I sucked in a shallow breath as he started to lean towards my lips.

_My first kiss... _

"Get away from her!"

We both turned to see a man in blue with blond hair and a man in a cape who looked strangely like Suicune standing a few feet away from us. I blinked in astonishment as I realized who they were.

Morty and Eusine!

"Well, if it isn't the Rescue Squad come to save the day," Proton said maliciously as he turned his full attention to the two men who had interrupted his moment with me. He took a hold of my wrist and pulled me closer to him, his chest against mine, as Morty's face grew more frantic.

"I said, let her go."

"Too bad, ghost-boy," he taunted as he pulled out a Pokeball from his belt. "She's all mine."

"If you don't I'll be forced to take desperate measures," his voice tried to be confident, but I could see the fear lingering.

"And what would that be? Set your Gengar on me and hope I'll surrender?" He had a point. "Don't try me."

"Then why don't I?" Eusine said as he released an Alakazam from a pokeball.

"Peachy—two against one. My kind of odds." Proton threw the pokeball o the ground and a Golbat came rushing out of the pokeball.

"Ha! You know Psychic-type Pokémon are super-effective against Poison and Flying-types!" Eusine said triumphantly.

"And I also know that dark-types are super effective against both Psychic _and _Ghost types!" Proton slid an arm around my waist and plucked one of my pokeballs from my belt.

"Hey—!" I yelled in protest, but it was too late. He had released my Umbreon before I could stop him. Proton tilted his head and whispered in my ear; "Am I going to get some help here? Or am I going to have to lose to a bunch of losers like these?"

I blinked and stuttered an "I-I guess..."

"I thought you'd be willing to compromise." He said loud enough so that Morty and Eusine could hear.

"You're forcing her to battle for you?!" Eusine argued.

"Whatever happened to two-against-one?" Morty added.

"Seems like you have me confused for someone else," Proton said as he ordered his Golbat to use Poison Fang on Eusine's Alakazam. The bat lunged at the Pokémon and bit it hard on its shoulder. Eusine cried out to the Pokémon and asked if it was alright. "You think I'm a man of my word, do you not? And you also think I'm not willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done? I'm sorry to tell you you're gravely wrong!" He inclined his head to Morty's Gengar and motioned for me to attack him. I swallowed hard. There was nothing else I could do.

"Umbreon, use Quick Attack," I commanded as the Pokémon lunged for the ghost, but he disappeared before it could attack. The Gengar was unaffected.

"What are you doing?" Proton hissed in my ear as he realized I'd totally thrown the attack. "I told you to attack!"

"I did," I smiled back as Umbreon turned to attack it again and again.

"She's throwing the whole battle!" Morty said to Eusine as they noticed my failed attempt to hit their Pokémon.

"She's trying to let us win against him!" Eusine said as he ordered his Alakazam to use Psychic on Proton's Golbat. Proton was too absorbed in his reprimanding of me to notice that he had just One Hit KO'd his Pokémon.

"Gah! Golbat!" he cried as he anxiously returned to fainted Pokémon to its Pokeball. Morty commanded his Gengar to use Shadow Ball on Umbreon. I motioned to Umbreon to take the hit, and that I promised to rush him to a Pokémon Center as soon as I could. It nodded slowly as it braced the hit that would defeat him. The Umbreon fell to the ground and I returned him as I stared at Morty. Proton was absolutely furious, not only that he lost, but that I had gone against his wishes and totally thrown the match.

He glared down at me as he tightened hi grip on my wrist. It was so hard that I gasped at the onslaught of pain I felt rush up my arm. I started to keel over with pain as Proton snaked his arm around my waist and hoisted me up from the ground. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world.

"Stop!" Morty yelled frantically as he witnessed my face.

"You may have won against me, but that doesn't mean she has," Proton started to grip harder and harder until I thought I couldn't take it anymore.

Sooner than I could feel it, the grip was released and I went sailing through the air, weightless.

**That was really long! Yes, fans, ProtonxAshley has begun! But that's not all! There will be much MUCH more where that came from, my peeps! Was it a good comeback for TR? Or was it to lengthy? I loved writing in the perspective of Lance; he's so obsessive and moody; it's so delightful to watch unfold! ^_^ And, I have to clear some things up (as noted by Jill): Ashley ahs her Pokémon because she had her DS in her pocket. When she came through the TV, her DS transformed into her Pokémon. IT also meant she got her PokeGear as well. That's how that got there too. And she had her ipod in her other pocket, so that's why that's here. I hope that wraps things up! See you in the next chappies, my peeps! (I don't own Pokémon) –Haine-chan**


	4. Stalking Smoke and Fainting Spells

Chapter 4

Stalking Smoke and Fainting Spells

I tried to open my eyes, but they felt like they were glued shut. Moving wasn't an option either, so I just lay down on whatever it was I was lying on, immobilized.

What had just happened? Oh, yeah, that's right. I had been battling with Proton and then I'd thrown the battle, angering the Executive sufficiently, and then he'd wigged out and started torturing me. Then everything went black.

And now I was unconscious—or at least my body was—and lamenting over my rash decision over completely losing against Morty and Eusine. They were good battlers—it made sense that Morty was. He was, after all, Ecruteak's Gym Leader and a master ghost user. But Eusine had surprised me the most; sure, I'd seen him in the games, battled him once, never thought twice about it. It felt different, now that I had battled him in person and not just through my DS. Instead of a Suicune-crazy guy, I saw a legend-tracing man who was keen on fulfilling his dreams. But enough about that.

I wished I could see what was going on, or at least move something. But that was impossible. I couldn't just lie around here all day and sigh to myself! I had to get up and take in my surroundings. Or find a bathroom. I had to go, really bad! Just as I thought I was never going to open my eyes again, I heard the faint murmur of voices swirling around me.

"Do you think she's dead?" a male voice asked warily. Dead?! I couldn't be dead! Wasn't it impossible to die in a parallel dimension that wasn't even supposed to exist?

"Of course not." Another voice, this one deeper, answered. "He didn't hit her that hard." Proton hit me? All I remembered was having my arm ripped from its socket and feeling excruciating pain.

"Yeah, but did you see that expression on his face?" the other one argued, "It looked like pure malice!"

"I did; but we must commend her on throwing the battle like she did earlier." So they did care that I risked my life for them! I felt so loved!

"If it were me, I would've kicked the guy into next week and ran for it." _I wished I'd thought of that sooner_…I thought, feeling guilty that I hadn't had the instinct to pull a hit-and-run.

"You say that now, Eusine," Oh, so it was Morty and Eusine near me! Or at least I assumed it was Morty. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew that Eusine wasn't seen with anyone besides him. I didn't feel as bad now. At least Executives didn't surround me with their icy smiles and hard glares. "But what would you say if you were a young girl, who isn't nearly as strong as you are, who's been through some pretty dramatic stuff and is trying to get home? Add onto that the fact that a Team Rocket Executive was holding her and that he had tried to kiss her. Now what do you think?" I was weak?! I had taken karate lessons as I kid and I wasn't a weakling! But, then again, I had been knocked out by Proton and didn't do a thing to defend myself…

A silence followed.

A sigh. "You're right. But how do you know all this stuff anyway, Morty?"

"I recently received a call from Lance," Lance! So he wasn't dead! Well, that was what I assumed when Proton had said 'You'll see'. He seemed like a very forceful kind of guy.

"Why didn't you tell me about all this?" Eusine said angrily.

"I didn't think it was relevant, but if you must know, I'll tell you later."

A groan. "Fine."

"Now, how are we going to get her to wake up?"

"Why can't we just wait until she wakes up on her own?"

"It's been three days, Eusine; no one stays asleep for that long." I'd been asleep for three days? I could only sleep in until noon at the very latest, and besides, I'd never slept that long in my whole life! Proton must've hit me really hard…

"Good point. Can I hit her?"

"No."

"Aw…"

_I am going to kill that guy when I get up!_

"I have something else in mind," A shuffle of feet and I felt the looming presence and shadow of someone hovering above me. The dark shadow grew closer until I felt a cold hand press against my forehead. Was he going to slap me awake?! No, that wasn't possible. He was Morty, after all, not Proton or anyone else who had the taste for violence. Like a certain man who loved a certain legendary…

All of a sudden, I felt a rush of energy flow from his hand to my body, electrifying my whole system. I felt my heartbeat race and my eyes flutter open as my body regained consciousness.

"What the—" I stuttered as I took in my surroundings; I was on a single bed in the middle of what looked like a hospital. _Probably a Pokémon Center of some sort,_ I concluded. Light shone through the curtains; it looked like it was around noon. No one else was in any of the other beds, but Morty was standing next to me with a triumphant grin on his face and Eusine was behind him scowling. I shook my head violently and tried to come to reason that I had not died after all.

"Show off." Eusine muttered to himself as he folded his arms.

"Welcome back," Morty said with a smile as he extended a hand to help me off the bed. I grinned a little and grabbed his hand. He hoisted me off the bed, but I felt the room spin. I began to topple over like a plastic toy top, but Morty caught me mid-air. I looked up at him and mumbled a sheepish 'thank you' as I regained my composure.

"Can we save the chivalry for later and cut to the chase already?" Eusine snapped as I recognized that he was still scowling. _Someone's jealous,_ I thought with a grin as I let Morty let me stand on my own.

"Of course," Morty said. He turned to me and the grin disappeared. "I guess we should thank you for back there. When you disobeyed Executive Proton and saved us instead of yourself. You are a talented Trainer."

I smirked. "If you mean throwing battles and pretending like I know what I'm doing, then, yeah, I guess I'm talented."

Eusine scoffed and rolled his eyes at my attempt at humour.

"You know, Morty's not the only one who owes me a 'thank you'." I said, directing my stare at Eusine. He stared back at me and huffed.

"Thanks," he said half-heartedly as he turned to leave.

"Yeah, you're welcome," I replied using the same monotone as him.

"If you don't mind, I have a few questions." Morty said.

"Sure, I don't mind," I said as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"This may seem like a stupid question, but why did you throw the battle, anyways?"

I paused as I tried to rack my brain for an appropriate answer. "Well, knowing Proton, I knew that if I won, he'd try and torture you guys or steal your Pokémon."

Morty nodded. I looked over my shoulder to see Eusine leaning on the frame of the door not entirely in the conversation but not eavesdropping.

"I've got a question," Eusine interrupted, just a Morty opened his mouth to ask one himself. I scoffed and said; "What?"

"What exactly were you doing with Proton when we came in?"

I gulped as I felt a lump start to form in my throat. That was the question I was hoping no one asked. What would I say? 'Oh, yeah, he just wanted to get up-close-and-personal with me because he likes me'? 'Sorry about that, you just intruded on our moment'? All of these sounded weird, not to mention deranged and wrong. How could I persuade the good guys that I didn't sort-of-not-really have something other than a feeling of dislike for the Executive? They'd probably think I was brainwashed by him or something! Because, really, who falls in love with a member of Team Rocket?

Wait—I just said I was in love with Proton.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!

I shook my head to get those thoughts out of my head and opened my mouth to answer, but before I could a sickening crash boomed from outside the center. We all rushed to the window and gazed out at the sight of the explosion. The only thing wrong was this: why did the smoke look purple...?

"The Burned Tower!" Morty cried out in shock as he witnessed the tower engulfed in smoke.

"We have to go—now!" Eusine said as he and Morty ran out the door towards the tower.

"Hey—what about me?!" I said in astonishment as I was left alone in the room. I couldn't just be tossed aside like trash! I had to go after them. Who knows—they might need my help! I dashed out of the room and down to the lower level of the Pokémon Center. I raced past Trainers and civilians alike; all of them were gazing restlessly out the windows with looks of horror spread on their faces.

I got out of the building and halfway to the tower when I ran smack into someone. I fell onto the ground and landed with a large _thump_. I was about to say 'sorry' and continue on my way, but as soon as I saw the person, I stopped mid-sentence.

I had run into Silver.

He gazed at me with ice in his eyes as I took in his appearance. Yep, it was Silver all right; he was wearing the same outfit, had the same cold eyes and, most of all, had the same blood-red hair as the rival.

"Watch where you're going, klutz," he said with malice.

"It wasn't my fault you decided to pop up out of nowhere and block my path!" I retorted as I hoisted myself up from the ground.

"Whatever," he scoffed as he walked away from me.

"Hey!" I called back, sprinting after him. He had a fast pace! I could barely keep up with him. "Where's my apology?"

He stopped walking as I almost ran into him again. He turned his head to look at me. "I don't need to apologize to the likes of you,"

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, eh?" I taunted, reaching for my pokeballs that hung on my waist. I know what you're thinking; OMG, you've just run into Silver, of all people, SILVER! And all you want to do is battle him? I'd be giving him a hug by now! Yeah, I know you're thinking it, but, in real life (well, I really shouldn't say 'real life' since this is the Pokémon world) he would've ripped my throat out if I attempted to even brush casually against him. Don't get me wrong; I did feel the overwhelming urge to poke him and run for it. But he was ticking me off!

Silver turned and shook his head. "I don't have time to battle a wimp."

"A wimp?!" I said, as I whipped out a pokeball that contained my Flareon, Flannery (in honour of the awesome fire-type Gym Leader in Hoenn). She sparked out of the ball and growled at Silver. I could tell that, like me, she didn't like his attitude.

"Humph," he said as he reached for his pokeball, "I'll teach you not to get in my way." He released a Sneasel who batted its claws menacingly._ I knew it was a good idea to send out my Flareon! Ice is weak to fire! _

"All right, Flannery, use Ember!"

"Dodge it and use Fury Swipes!"

"Now use--!"

Before I could finish the command and show Silver how _not_ to mess with me, another blood-curdling boom echoed through the towns ending ripples of shock waves through the ground. We both went toppling down to the ground and so did our Pokémon. Frightened that they would get hurt unintentionally, I returned Flannery and tried to get up. Silver followed suit and returned his Sneasel. I directed my attention back to the tower, which was still covered in smoke, but that sickly haze was coming our way!

Before I could react, Silver had gotten out of there as quick as lightning, leaving me open to the haze. "What?!" I cried as I hurled myself up off the ground and ran to the nearest building to try and take shelter. Every time I tried to open the door, it was locked, so I ran to the building that led out to Route 42. _Where Proton and I…_

I shook that thought from my head and dashed through the door just as the smoke crawled past the spot where Silver and I had battled. There was no guard in the building, so I slumped onto the floor and sighed heavily. _At least I'd escaped the fog in time._ Now what was I going to do? My only chance to get somewhere had slipped away from me and it was all thanks to some stupid purple smoke!

Stop the bus—purple smoke?

Then it hit me; it wasn't a fire or explosion, someone had deliberately used smokescreen to cover the tower. Someone had purposefully distracted the townsfolk so that whoever it was could do whatever they wanted without interruption or interference. And there was only one group of people who abused smokescreen…

Team Rocket.

I had to get out of the building—and quick. I had no idea what they were planning on doing here, but I had a hunch it had to do with Ho-Oh or the three legendary beasts. If they got a hold of them, then they'd be unstoppable! And then I'd have to stay and try to free them! I walked over to the door and jiggled the knob.

It was locked.

I tried again, and again, and again, but to no avail. _This is a trap_, I thought miserably as I sank down to the base of the door. _I shouldn't have gone here!_ _Now what do I do? How am I supposed to get home? Now I'm starting to miss mom's endless torture. I guess it's better than being locked in a building in some parallel dimension while you starve to death! There's no one here to save me and all I have are my Pokémon—_

My Pokémon!

I fumbled with my belt and released Flannery again. "I know you may not be up to it, but could you burn down the door?" I commanded. This probably sounds like a stupid idea, but it was all I could think of! Seriously, my mind was racing at 200km/hour. Flannery groaned and braced herself. Before she could attack the door, she started to lean both ways, like she was drunk. I know Pokémon don't' get hangovers (that sounds like a Bailey School Kids' book title!), so I immediately rushed over to her to see what was wrong. Flannery collapsed on the floor as I picked her up gingerly.

"Flan, what's wrong?" I asked as I noticed something seeping through the crack at the bottom of the door.

The smoke had stalked me.

I crawled away from the door but the smoke kept coming! Eventually, I rammed my back into the other door and frantically tried to open it. But it was locked, too. I returned Flannery and tried to escape the looming smoke, but I had no means of escaping. Sooner then I knew it, I started coughing hard. I felt like my lungs were going to collapse when y body decided to instead.

And for the second time that day, I fainted.

_I am such a wuss._

After what seemed like ages, I started to open my eyes. _At least this time you can. _I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I scanned the room. I was on a bed in the middle of what seemed like another infirmary. But this didn't seem so inviting; the room was cold and all white. There were only two beds (including mine) in the whole room. It smelled like cherry Halls. I hated that flavour! A few chairs were scattered around and I noticed a cabinet with medicine and other medical-related things. I was in the same clothing (thankfully) and my Pokémon had been placed on the nightstand beside me. Who'd done that?

What I didn't notice was a man gazing out the window with glazed eyes. When I gasped, he turned to look at me face-on.

Oh, gosh, I thought, I'm stuck in a room with Archer!

**Ooh, suspense! Awesomeness! I hope you'll all do your part and review and tell me how much you'd like to strangle me right now! ^_^ Just kidding. And you thought it was going to be Proton! Nope, it's now time for the ArcherxAshley segment! But don't worry; there will be more of Proton for all you ProtonxAshley fans out there. I wonder if there's anyone out there who likes ArcherxAshley? I highly doubt it, but I'll just have to wait and see, won't I? I will try to update soon, although everyone knows my life is a mess of school, homework and insomnia! I will try my best! See you in the next chappies, my peeps! –Haine-chan**


	5. Just a Pawn in Our Little Game

Chapter 5

Just a Pawn in Our Little Game

I stared at Archer as he stopped staring out the window and started to walk towards me. I felt tempted to dash to the door, but this was probably their HQ, and they most likely had grunts guarding the premises, so I gulped down the accumulating lump in my throat, along with my pride.

I glanced down at my PokéGear; it was three o' clock. I had just wasted three days sleeping! I could've been home right now! My torture would've been up and I would've been relaxing (well, not really) at home, pretending that this all didn't happen and that I wasn't really a few centimeters away from having my first kiss with an anime character. At least I didn't have to worry about homework or anything while I was here. Anyone wouldn't mind taking a break from the stress of daily work. But I did miss my friends and listening to my teachers drone on about pointless life lessons. They were becoming quite appealing…

"So you've finally woken up," Archer said. I had completely spaced out! Or at least I had long enough for Archer to reach the bed and hove over top of it like a vulture. Was that a trait every Executive shared? Did they like to torture their captives by hovering over them, waiting for them to look in the other direction and the pounce? Being cooped up in an infirmary really wasn't doing any good for my nerves, let alone my head.

"Yeah," I replied, "I guess I am." I tried to stretch out my body and try to make the annoying cramp in my side dwindle away. But as I did, I felt a large thud continuously berate my skull. _I must've hit my head when I fell unconscious or something,_ I thought, rubbing the back of my head cautiously. That only made it worse, and the dull throb became a stabbing pain. I winced. "Ow," I said as I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking that not looking would help to ease the pain.

I looked at him and noticed that he had a—well, I think it was perplexed—expression on his face. He must've known I'd hit my head, or else he would've freaked out and kept asking me if I was okay. Or at least that's what I assumed he'd do.

Archer shook his head and said, "You shouldn't move around. That's why you're in this bed, after all." He strolled over to the medicine cabinet and started leafing through its contents. I presumed he was looking for some kind of medicine to rid me of this pain.

As he continued to look for the concoction, I started to let my mind wander. I was tired of being kidnapped. Twice in one week? By the same team? That wasn't so thrilling. Sure, getting kidnapped once is awesome. And by your favourite Executive is the icing on the cake. But getting saved by the good guys, then falling into a trap then waking up in their HQ with their interim head? That was pushing the limit.

I blew a stray hair from my face and said, "Are you gonna…say something? Like about what your grand plan to take over the world is? Or how you're gonna steal the most powerful Pokémon on the planet?"

I saw Archer in the reflection of the glass in the cabinet. He blinked and smiled a little. "It seems that Proton was right, after all."

"Eh?" I said at the mention of the teal-haired man's name.

"He thought that you knew more about this team then we know ourselves. That is, after all, why we brought you here."

Archer pulled out a small bottle of dark liquid, shut the cabinet and started looking for a spoon.

"Whoa, whoa, stop the bus, pal," I said as I replayed his words in my head, "First of all, how do you know that I know so much about you guys? And how did you get me through my TV? Why does Proton know so much about me? And how do _you _know me? We've never even met before. Uh—well, we did meet at the warehouse, but still."

Archer chuckled darkly and added, "He also mentioned you liked to ask questions; a lot of them at that."

I huffed in frustration and crossed my arms. "So? What's the answer?"

"Impatient, aren't we?" he chortled as he finally came over and started pouring out the liquid on the metal spoon.

"It's one of my many annoying personality traits," I said as I stared at the medicine he was now ushering me to digest.

I have never been a fan of any kind of medicine—being as headstrong as I was; I never took any when it came to colds or flues. My mom would verbally harass me, saying that it would make me feel better and that the taste would go away. I still to this day think that all they do is make you go ballistic thinking about the bad taste in your mouth when it should be healing you and making you get back to life faster.

Hilary, on the other hand, took it like candy. I never got it: she was eight, and she downed the stuff like she was a pro. I would always seal my mouth shut and throw a hissy fit (a grown-up hissy fit, mind you). Mom would congratulate Hilary; she'd give her a lollipop or any other kind of sugary confection we had lying around the house, while I was forced to stay quarantined in my room with only my DS and TV to keep me company. I would constantly watch Pokémon (mainly the episodes that had some kind of plot in it) until my immune system decided to kick the viruses butt.

"It's not going to kill you," Archer said, noting my look of disgust plastered on my face.

I scoffed. "You're Team Rocket; you steal Pokémon, exploit people and are constantly trying to take over the world. That sends off a warning to me. You could've poisoned this so I could be killed off easily. No, better yet, you probably injected some kind of mind-controlling serum in this, so that when I consume it, I'll fall utterly and completely under your control and when I do, you'll be able to take over all of Johto and eventually the world with me responding to your every beck and call?"

I huffed and tried to catch my breath after my very long monologue. Archer tried to stifle a laugh, but he couldn't. Soon, the room echoed with his laughter. Was my speech really that stupid? It made sense though: wasn't that something Team Rocket was willing to do? I hadn't really thought of what I was going to say; it just sort of came rushing out of my mouth without delay. Maybe I was already falling under their control?

"You really are a piece of work," he said after his fit of uncontained laughter. "But, seriously, just take it. Believe me; you're worth nothing to this world dead."

I blinked and gaped at his sentence. Was he saying that I really was here for a reason, and not in some messed-up dream I'd conjured? I didn't realize how wide my mouth was open, because before I knew it, Archer had slipped the spoon full of the amber liquid into my mouth and tipped my head back, sending the fluid tumbling down my throat. I coughed at the sudden onslaught of bad-taste as Archer returned the bottle back to the cabinet. Instead of bringing me more torture-medicine, he held a plain bottle of water. Before he could hand it to me, I snatched it from him and started gulping it down, without stopping for air.

He just stood there, watching me with his arms crossed, his foot tapping lightly on the floor, and a shamed look on his face.

I stopped chugging the water and glanced at the bottle. I had downed more than half of it without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately the taste was still I my mouth. I grimaced and sheepishly handed Archer the bottle.

"You'd better keep that," he said, frowning at the container.

After I downed the last of the water, my mind brought me back to the questions I had asked before: _"First of all, how do you know that I know so much about you guys? And how did you get me through my TV? Why does Proton know so much about me? And how do you know me? We've never even met before. Uh—_ _well, we did meet at the warehouse, but still."_

I hadn't gotten my answers yet, right? Or were they already answered? My mind was slow, as slow as dripping honey. And I couldn't control my body very well. Was this the side effect of that medicine? Most medicines don't make you feel drunk and it does take a long time for them to kick in…

_I knew he'd drugged me! _

That's why it tasted so bad. My speech must've been correct! Eh, probably not, but he may have done it to me to try and avoid the subject. But now that I knew this, I was going to get some answers! Even if I had to get out of this bed and risk fainting for the third time….

I lamely tried to uncover myself, but Archer saw this and rushed to my side. Before I could get my legs out, he was there, sitting beside me, crushing the blankets on the mattress, and blocking my exit. I could always try the other side, but then he'd probably run over to that one to and we'd keeping doing this for hours until one of us gave up. Me being the one who gives up.

"Didn't you hear what I said before?" he asked, "You should stay in bed."

"All you're trying to do…is keep me here for as long as you can…" I whispered, trying to fight the oncoming wave of drowsiness. "And you're avoiding…my questions."

"I'm not avoiding your questions; they just don't need to be answered right now." He said a hint of malice on the edge of his voice. He really wanted me to stay, didn't he? I didn't know if that was a good thing or not. "Don't try to escape,"

"What makes you think I'd do that?" I giggled.

"Your recent escapes have made that an infinite possibility." He replied. "And even if you did manage to free yourself, we'd have to bring you back."

"Why?"

"You know, Ashley," archer said, using my name for the first time since we'd met, "you would make an excellent Executive."

"Thanks for the compliment, Archer…but I think it'd be a little awkward if I went home and said to my mom 'Hey mom! Guess what? I'm a part of an internationally known crime syndicate! And, to top it all off, I was recruited by their interim head! Oh, and I won't be going to school anymore—I'll be too busy stealing other people's Pokémon!'"

Before I go on, I know you must be crying in your seat. Don't worry; if it weren't for the fact that my mom's a control freak and I am stuck in a parallel dimension that shouldn't even exist, then yes, I would've took him up on his offer and my new life as an Executive would've begun. But I had more important things to worry about, like not falling asleep beside the interim head of Team Rocket. (My biggest concern was whether he would see me drool all over the place.)

Archer frowned. "Now you're making us look bad."

"That's your middle name."

"Now, now, Ashley, why so negative? You sound like that pesky little Ash you saw at the warehouse."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you trying to make a pun…of my name?"

"No."

"Good."

Just as he opened his mouth to speak to me (and probably say something that would make me feel even worse about rejecting his offer to join Team Rocket), I heard a faint knock on the door. Archer groaned, did a little face-palm and walked towards the door and opened it. I heard a shuffle of feet and the mumbled voices, which I only assumed to be a grunt asking Archer some stupid question. Archer said something to them and they went scurrying off like rats.

This was my chance! I could sneak out the window and be home for dinner! Maybe mom would let me take a nap beforehand? I lifted the heavy comforter and raced to the window. I wave of nausea rolled through me and I covered my mouth to try and stop the vomit. IT worked, and I heaved the heavy window open. This drug must've been kicked into overdrive, because I could barely see straight. But I started to heave my body though the narrow opening. Not glancing down on what may be at the bottom, I was halfway through the window, when I felt an arm tug me back into the room. I struggled to keep in the window frame, but after a few seconds, I gave up. This guy had a powerful grip! For a grunt, he was pretty formidable.

Too bad my assumption turned out to be dead wrong.

I whipped my head around to see Archer, (back already?) clutching my arm with an iron grip, grinning at my failed attempt to escape. I smiled back weakly as I pulled my leg back in.

"Trying to escape?" he asked slyly.

"Yes, actually," I retorted as I tried to get out of his grip.

"I am sorry to say that won't be happening." Archer then preceded to half-dragged-half-slide me across the room to the door, which now looked like the mouth of some menacing creature that was hungry for fifteen-year old girls who'd stumbled upon an unknown region.

"Wait—where are we going?" I asked frantically, as we exited the infirmary and walked down endless hallways. My body wanted to slump over and curl into a ball, but I willed myself to keep walking.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough." He replied as we passed numerous grunts that all stared at me—and believe me, I stared back—and a few scientists who were more caught up in their experiments then a troublesome girl like me. Eventually, after a few flights of stairs and even more grunts, we got to some kind of observation deck. It wasn't as big or cool as the one in the Goldenrod Radio Tower, but it was grand enough to pass as a fancy lookout spot. Glass windows stood side-by-side, like soldiers, giving the spectator a birds-eye view of the surrounding area. Archer brought me to the window and allowed me to stare out at the area.

I leaned against the frame, giving my aching body a rest. Unfortunately, there were no chairs, so I had to do with a sort-of slouching position against the windowpane. I stared out and saw that there was a beach in front of us; cool, clear water lapped at the sand. A few krabby's lingered on the shore and picked at invisible food. The sun sat lazily in the sky, threatening to drop below the horizon. A couple of wingull cawed in the background. But that wasn't what I was paying attention to.

It was the group of people staring up at us in awe.

They were all trying to open the doors to the building, but to no avail. Some of them sent out Pokémon after Pokémon to try and barrel down the door. Nothing they did helped. I had to squint to see the people, we were sp high up. Either that or my vision was failing me at the wrong time.

There was a boy in a baseball cap with a pikachu on his shoulder who could only be Ash; a young girl clutching a togepi who had to be Misty; two men side-by-side, who I identified as Morty and Eusine, and a man with flaming hair and a signature cape blowing in the wind…

"Lance!" I cried out as I tried to break free for the umpteenth time. Archer only smiled as I gazed down on Lance as he tried to find who had called him. But he gave up and continued to barrel down the door. I grew more and more frustrated as I continued to call out to him. My voice wouldn't carry through the heavy glass frames and it was starting to grow hoarse and cracked with every other word. For some reason, my feeble attempts at escape made Archer's ego grow a level. He seemed more…confident in himself. I could see it on his face as I constantly tried to get him to release me so I could tell them I was up here instead of some lingering ghost.

"Yes," he said finally as he slid one of the glass windows open a little. I could yell to the others that I was here! Without talking to Archer, I started belting out names at random, without realizing that was exactly what he wanted me to do.

"Lance! Morty! Eusine!" I yelled, purposefully ignoring the fact that Ash, Misty and Brock were standing with them. All of them turned to see me being restrained by Archer at the top of the tower. They looked alarmed (who wouldn't?) and frantically tried to figure out a way to get up to me. I even felt tempted to climb out the window and risk a concussion to see those guys. That's how badly I wanted to see them.

Suddenly, Archer pulled me away from the window, obscuring my view of them and forcing me to stop my calling. "You can try all you want to save her," Archer yelled at the group. "But you will always fail."

All of a sudden, a whole battalion of grunts paraded out of the building and started to surround the group. They all huddled together in a tight circle as they were completely engulfed in Rockets. The sea of grunts parted, and a woman with blood-red hair emerged, an arbok strolling menacingly beside her. That had to be Ariana. I'd know that hair anywhere! Next was an older man with purple hair who had a gigantic weezing floating beside him. Only Petrel could do that. Finally, a man who had bright teal hair walked to the center of the circle with a golbat hovering near his shoulder.

"Proton!" I screamed; panic thick in my voice as he glanced up to see me. He smiled, tipped his hat, and commanded the golbat to use sludge bomb on the unsuspecting group as the other Executives followed suit. "No!" I said as I tried to get past Archer and jump out the window to protect the people who were trying to save me.

Archer tsked at me and ripped me away from the window, making my arm surge with pain. I wanted to fall on the floor and cry, but tears wouldn't save my newly found friends: action would. But how could I take action when I wanted to hibernate for the next few months? He started to drag me again, but I planted my feet in the ground. I wouldn't let myself be carelessly tossed around like some kind of helpless rag doll!

"Stop…Archer…" I said, every part of my body aching.

"Stop?" he said, leaning down to look at me at eye level. "Why should I stop? What makes you think that you have enough power to stop us from fulfilling our ambitions? Do you think that a little word like 'stop' will halt our plans and make this whole thing go away? No. It won't. You are not in control anymore. This is not your home territory. It is ours. We have the home advantage. And you, my dear, are just a pawn in our little game. Now play your part and be a good little girl."

I felt some kind of emotion bubble up inside my chest like a hot air balloon. What is this feeling? It wasn't fear or happiness. Nor was it anger. It was something I'd never felt before, never wanted to. This emotion was one that was very hard to control. I knew the words for it.

Sheer rage.

What gave him to right away to all me a little girl when in fact, I had escaped from them twice without help from anyone! (Well, except for the battle with Morty and Eusine, but I don't count that). He knew very well that I could hold my own if I wasn't drugged up. Archer knew that I wasn't an ordinary girl. He knew that I wasn't from Johto—he stated that very plainly. And he knew very well that I would kick his butt if he even uttered a single threat to any of my newfound friends. I felt the overwhelming need to punch someone in the face.

Archer must've figured it out, because his eyes widened and his mouth opened a little. He must've thought I'd actually listen to him! Man was he ever wrong!

"Sorry, Archer," I said, "But I'm nobody's pawn."

Just then, a sickening crash boomed through the room and we were sent flying in opposite directions. I rammed into the wall, and I was almost knocked out for the count, had it not been for the fact that it was my back that hit the wall and not my head. Archer skidded to a halt, just inches away from the staircase doors. I slowly started to get up, and so did Archer and I feared we'd have to do battle again, but a gigantic shadow came up from behind him and clobbered him in the head, knocking him out. I smiled. He was getting annoying, what with the whole 'do as we say' crap!

Before I could thank my hero, I felt another wave of nausea, this time ten times stronger, come over me and I started to vomit. It was quite disgusting but after about a minute. I was done. I felt a lot better! I must've had some kind of internal reaction to that drug that Archer gave me. I got up and yawned. I didn't feel tired anymore, as well. I never knew throwing up could feel so good!

I turned to see a figure come out from behind the shadow. I stepped back a little, fearing that it was a grunt, but I was kindly surprised by the man who smiled at me.

"Lance!" I said as I ran up to him and hugged him. I notice that the huge shadow behind him was actually his Dragonite. I wanted to hug him, too!

"You're alright?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Yeah," I assured.

"You two done yet?" and annoyed voice rung out. I turned to see Eusine, Morty, Ash, Misty and Brock in the doorway. I smiled and ran over to them, giving everyone (yes even Ash,) a hug. Eusine didn't like it, but everyone else seemed fine with it.

"What took you guys so long?" I asked, not meaning to sound rude.

"Ask the thousands of grunts outside," Eusine huffed.

"And the guards outside the stairwell," Morty added, equally enraged.

"Wait a minute," I said, trying to piece everything together, "There were guards at the door?"

"Not to mention those Executives!" Ash added, "Well, except Archer, of course."

We all turned to see him still lying on the floor unconscious. I felt kinda bad for him, but then again, he'd annoyed me and insulted me, so he deserved it.

"What happened to you up here?" Lance asked, "All we saw was you and Archer. We assumed that he was holding you hostage."

"Well..." Then I spilled the whole thing. Every little detail. I had summed it up in a minute or two and at the end of it all, they sort of understood everything. But I left out the part about Archer giving it to me while I wasn't looking.

"So they need you for something," Lance concluded.

"Basically, yes," I agreed.

"Then we have to make sure you don't stray too far." Morty said.

"And out of Team Rocket's hands," Eusine said.

That little sentence made the whole group, excluding Lance and I, burst into a friendly argument. Where should they hide me and what if team Rocket finds us...on and on. Lance looked at me and I smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said.

"I am, too," I answered.

Suddenly, a flash of dark purple shot from the open window and separated us. I felt something snake around me, paralyzing me. My throat began to tighten as I felt it slowly being strangled. I gripped my neck and felt a slimy, scaly coil wrapped around it. I gasped and looked at where Lance had landed. The others were trying to help him up. Lance reached for a pokeball on his belt, but without warning, a heap of sludge shot out at them from out of nowhere. When I tried to move and help them, the grip just got tighter, restraining me more. After they had recovered from being pelted at with gross purple gunk, a strong, female voice echoed through the room, making everyone immobile.

"If anyone makes another move, she'll get it."

**A/N This chappie didn't take that long to write. I knew what I was doing, so I could update it fairly fast. Thank you to all of my loyal fans and reviewers! I hope this story goes on for multiple chapters. And if I make it to the sixth chappie I'll have a huge party! See, none of my other fics have made it past five chapters, so it makes my heart skip a beat to think I can surpass that level! Maybe if I get lots of reviews and criticism, I might get the next chappie up fairly quickly? I hope I can! IT's funny how the word count for this chapter is 4, 444! Well, it would've been if I'd stopped typing. Dang! ^_^Thanks again and see you in the next thrilling installment of Stuck In a Parallel Dimension With You! –Haine-chan**


	6. E is for Espionage

**Before you start reading, I'd like to show you a playlist for this chappie! Thank you to PeachyKeenx088 for giving me this idea! It goes like this...**

_**White Robe**_** – t.A.T.u. (When Ashley is running through the HQ)**

_**Scarlet **_**– BRACE;d (The battle scene in the observation deck)**

_**The Departure –**_** Vampire Knight OST II (Throughout Ariana and Ashley's conversation)**

_**Kuchibiru Daydream**_** – Aki Misato (When Ashley gets out of the HQ)**

**A good song for the last chapter would be **_**Robot **_**by Miley Cyrus. It fits when Archer is telling Ashley that she is 'just another pawn in our little game'. Just had to add that. I don't own anything. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

E is for Espionage

"Ariana," Lance spat as he glowered at the woman who held me captive. Everyone tensed as they saw her walk from behind me to beside me. I turned to see her smile (a wicked and cruel one) at him. Her blood red hair shone under the fluorescent lights that dangled from the ceiling of the observation deck. Archer was still lying unconscious just inches away from the group. For some reason, I thought he was faking the whole thing and would suddenly pop up and attack us at any given moment. But by the way he was groaning (not to mention the egg-sized lump that had accumulated on his forehead) I knew he couldn't be imitating it.

She tapped her stiletto-style boots against the linoleum floor and tilted her head. "The great champion, Lance." she said, scanning him over like he was a prize at the county fair. A puzzled expression crossed her face. "What is a skilled dragon master like you doing here?"

"Don't play coy with me, Ariana," Lance snapped, his temper flaring. I shook my head to try to stop him from exploding, but the grip around my neck tightened every time I tried to move an inch. "You know as well as I do what I intend to do here."

"Do I?" she asked innocently as she looked me in the eyes. They pierced into me, and I had to bite back a gasp of fear. She could provoke terror into anything! "Oh, you mean her?" She flicked her wrist and the arbok gripped me even harder. I choked and gasped for air.

"No-!" All of them cried. They tried to reach out and stop the torture, but Ariana released a vileplume to stop them in their tracks. The Pokemon lowered its head and waited for a command from her.

"All it takes is just one word," she taunted menacingly, "and all of you could be either rendered helpless by paralysis, writhing with a toxic poison, or in a deadly state of sleep. It's that simple." At that, everyone froze. If it weren't for being trapped in this overgrown coil that was Ariana's arbok, they wouldn't be under her control right now! I fought back tears as I dearly hoped she wouldn't give the order. She glowered at me.

"_You_ were the one who hurt Archer." she said. "_You_ were the one who escaped us numerous times. And, sadly, _you_ are the one we need to fulfill our brilliant plan." She placed her finger under my chin and lifted it so that we were eye-to-eye. Her long fingernails dug into my neck, leaving little half-moons embedded in my skin. "If you weren't so valuable, I'd have killed you by now."

This time, I really did gasp and she laughed a throaty, detached laugh. She turned to the others. "Vileplume," I sucked in a breath as she pondered on which command to utter. I wondered which one she had used on them. Out of them all, the most deadly had to be the poison. But was she willing to kill off the League Champion, a Gym Leader, a mystical man and a famous group of kids? "Use sleep powder."

"No!" I cried as the creature sprayed the noxious fumes at my friends. That put them into a deep, dark, dreadful sleep. Without their senses intact, they collapsed on the ground in front of me. I tried to get out of its hold, but it tightened again and I gave up. Ariana chuckled and said; "Now we can talk without those meddling outsiders."

All I could do was glare at her as she started to pace in front of me. She nearly stepped on Ash's head as she marched right near their lifeless bodies. Using her foot as a broom, she flung Misty's hand out of her path and looked at me. "Proton told me about you, child. He said that you were different, a girl worth watching out for. He also said that you were fairly attractive." I blushed slightly at his complement. "Do you know why we brought you here, child?"

I shook my head.

"You are the only one who knows what has happened to Giovanni-sama."

What? How did she know I knew about their long-lost boss? They shouldn't have even known I was alive! But, yet, here I was, being restrained by an arbok and being accused of knowing the whereabouts of a man who was known far and wide for running the region's most well-known crime syndicate.

"Hold up," I said, trying to slow the conversation down so I could take a second to think. Ariana stopped mid-pace to stare at me. "How do you even know me at all?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, with a tone that was suited for toddlers. "We are Team Rocket; we have state-of-the-art technology. We have spies that work around the clock to track down anyone who even breathes a word of our antics. We are known around the world as the most mysterious and deadly group of thieves." She resumed her pacing as soon as she stopped talking.

"How did you-? This doesn't make any sense..." Were they telling me that they had been spying on me for most of my life? Was there even a realistic situation that would fit Team Rocket's persona? I could imagine them creeping me through my windows, planting homing devices in my backpack and dropping moles in my school. But why would they even want to watch me at all? Didn't they have other things to do, like steal imaginary people's Pokemon or something? "How could you have watched me when you don't even know where I live?"

"You live on one hundred forty-five Lafferty Way, Kingston, Ontario, Canada." Ariana said, sounding more like a robot then a human being.

I gulped and asked, "W-what else do you know about me?"

She smiled and said, "You have an annoying sister named Hilary, who will not leave you alone and likes to play with Barbie's. Your mother likes to wash your mouth out with soap whenever you misbehave. Your father completely ignores you on a daily basis. You're only refuge is your DS and TV."

It scared me how much they knew about me. "Okay, this is scary."

"What's scary is how much you know about us," Ariana said.

"Really?" I asked. "Is it as creepy as knowing where someone lives or who their family is or why they have such a crappy life?"

Ariana chuckled lightly. "No, but it is more about our ambitions and goals rather than our personal lives."

I grimaced. I knew that all of the things they were accusing me of were true. I knew where Giovanni was (Tohjo Falls); I knew that they were trying to bring him back from his 'solitary training' and try to rule the world. Archer was the interim head, Ariana was his second-in-command, Proton was the celebrity and Petrel was the master of disguise. But I wasn't willing or wanting to give that information to them. What would happen if I did? They would probably be able to bring back Giovanni and be able to bring the entire Pokemon world to its knees. And with me being in their hands, they'd be able to take over the real world, too. But how was I going to act like I didn't know anything when they clearly thought I did? I shook my head in disbelief. How did I get myself in this predicament, anyways? I noticed Ariana waiting impatiently for me to spill the beans. Instead, I decided to play coy. "And what would I know about a team I've seen before and Executives I've never met before until now?"

Ariana sighed. "Don't play dumb with me, girl. You know as well as I do that you know everything there is to know about Team Rocket. So be a good girl and tell us what you know."

"What makes you think I'd be willing to blab, anyways?" I said. Thinking on my toes, I decided to make it seem like I didn't believe any of this was true. That would be a decent way to make them think that I knew nothing (or at least I thought I didn't). "All you've been doing is chasing, kidnapping, restraining and hurting me ever since you teleported me here! And besides, you guys aren't even meant to exist! Satoshi Tajiri created you. You guys only come to life on my DS and on Game Boys across the world. You only talk when you're animated into the anime. This is all a dream!"

"You think this is a dream?" a deeper, monotone voice asked. I whipped my head around to see Archer getting up off the ground and lumbering towards us, leaning on his Houndoom for support. How did he get up so fast? I'd expected him to be out for a while longer. "I thought you would've figured out by now that this is all too real."

"Pokemon don't exist." I said, fake anger flaring in my voice. "None of this exists! Not you, not her, not Lance, not Ash, not ANYBODY! Don't you understand that if I wanted to, I could wake up right now and think nothing of it? That's how unreal this whole thing is. People don't get sucked through their TV sets into parallel dimensions. People don't interact with fictional characters. People don't magically become the target of an imaginary crime syndicate." I took a deep breath and yelled, "And people certainly don't own Pokemon!"

"Then if you think this is a dream, why don't you wake up?" Archer asked.

"Kind of hard to try and pinch myself awake with this big oaf coiled around." I said, tilting my head a little to motion to Ariana's arbok, who had not moved an inch for the past ten minutes. If I got out of its hold, I could try and escape.

Ariana laughed and said, "If this is your attempt at trying to escape using bland lies, then you should really consider a new strategy."

"You think I'd be able to escape with two Executives and two large Pokemon blocking my way, not to mention all of the grunts and other Executives who would be alerted if I made it out of the observation deck?" I said, trying to make it obvious that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Ariana cast a quizzical look at me and was about to say something when Archer interrupted and said, "If you're so sure that this is an illusion of some sort, go ahead and try to 'wake' yourself up."

Ariana looked at him, and whispered something in his ear that either sounded like, "Are you seriously going to allow her the chance?" or "Are you seriously allowing her a Chase card?" I assumed it was the first one, since the other made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Archer nodded and whispered something else that I didn't even consider guessing at and before I knew it, the arbok had let go of me and a whoosh of air went spiraling into my throat. I had to cough at all of the fresh air that I was slowly starting to breathe in. My hands clutched my throat. I felt a lot better than I did wrapped up in that snake of hers.

I really _did w_ant to try and escape, but I knew all of the risks that came with it. If I tried to run, Houndoom would surely corner me or block the door. If I managed to evade it and the noxious spray from Ariana's vileplume, I'd still have the chance of being caught by that annoying arbok again. Best case scenario would be that I make it out the door and down the stairs. But then Archer would call for reinforcements and somewhere along the way a grunt or Proton or Petrel would catch me running down one of the aisles. But it was worth a shot. I was so tired of being in Team Rocket's hands. I could always use my Pokemon to distract them while I made a beeline for the door. Searra would take Houndoom again and But I had to make it look like I still believed this was a dream, so I rolled up my sleeves and pinched hard on my left arm. The pain wasn't nice, but if it was going to get me out of here, then I was willing to tolerate it. I knew it wasn't going to work, so I huffed in frustration and then went on to chant 'wake up' every second. After a minute or two, I pretended to give up on that. I racked my brain for any other kind of way to make them think I still believed this was fake. I stopped after jumping up and down.

Throughout my fake struggle to 'wake up', Ariana and Archer had been stifling bouts of laughter every time I tried something new. After I had given up, I turned to them and pouted.

"You got any suggestions?" I asked.

"Give up." Archer said, smiling.

"That's not an option." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Oh?" Archer said. "That's a shame."

"Isn't it though?" I said, smiling. I put my hands on my hips and stared at the two of them. Discreetly, I moved my fingers to the pokeballs that rested on my hips. I reached Searra's pokeball and paused over it. "Sadly, you'll never know quite as much as I do." Quickly, I released her and commanded her to use water pulse on Archer's Houndoom to get it out of commission. While he was distracted by Searra, I released both Antoinette and my jumpluff, Fluffy (brilliant name, eh?). "Fluffy, use bounce on Ariana's vileplume and Antoinette, use psychic on arbok!" Waves of telepathic energy crashed into the cobra and, it being super effective, made it faint. Fluffy, however, had a hard time trying to land on the vileplume, who kept dodging it. Effectively taking their attention away from me, I sprinted for the door, which was now completely open.

"She's getting away!" Archer yelled. I stuck my tongue out at them and laughed at the chaos I had just created.

Heading down the flight of stairs, I reached the main building in good time. Soon after I had maneuvered through two or three different hallways, I decided to return my Pokemon. I hoped they would come back after having run such a distance, but when I pressed the button on their pokeballs, they appeared in that familiar blaze of red light. Now that my Pokemon were securely sealed in their respective pokeballs, I quickened my pace. Suddenly, the alarms started to flare and sirens blared. I knew he'd call for reinforcements! Pushing my legs to the extreme, I crossed between aisles, trying to avoid onslaughts of grunts. An announcement started to ring through the halls:

"Alert. All personnel on standby. Captive has escaped form confinement. Ensure she does not escape." I could tell that it was Archer making the notice because of his tone of voice and the noise in the background.

_I'm really screwed now!_ I thought. Eventually, I'd have to stop running to catch my breath. As I was about to turn a corner, I stopped dead as a whole battalion of grunts went barreling past. Pressing myself against the wall, I narrowly missed being trampled (and ultimately) caught. This was turning into a suicide mission! Finally, I noticed light at the end of the hall and recognized that this was the exit I had been praying for! With more energy filling my body, I ran to the door and opened them to reveal a sweet sea breeze and water lapping at the sand. I sighed in relief and felt like jumping up and down. But that loud siren and the looming threat of capture made me forget about that and told me to get as far away from here as possible.

After what seemed like hours (it was probably only a few minutes), I got out of the city's borders. As I neared the exit, I saw a sign that said '_Olivine City:_ _The Port with Sea Breezes'. _Team Rocket had an HQ in Olivine? _You learn something new every day,_ I thought as I stated walking down a gravel path that could only lead to Ecruteak City. _Well, at least I wasn't completely lying to Lance when I said I wanted to go there. My real excuse is to get away from Archer!_ I grinned a little and skipped down the rest of the path. I ignored Trainers who wanted a battle and hummed to myself. I was determined to get to Ecruteak before sunset. But one thought was ringing in the back of my head the whole time I was skipping:

_What if Team Rocket knows where I'm going?_

**Hello again! It's been a while, hasn't it? OH, great, now I'm quoting Eusine. XD Yeah, a month without an update! I feel bad, but I wasn't really in a good Pokemon mood until now. And I've been updating my other stories as well, but I have not forgotten this one. So don't think I've gone and fallen off the face of the planet, I'm just trying to write more when I feel like it! Sorry if it doesn't make any sense in the beginning. I went through so many drafts and had to finish with this one to get my point across. IF it confuses you, let me know and I'll try and explain. ^^ On that happy note, I'm pleased to announce that I have created a new FF for the Executives of TR! Yeah! The title is a work in progress, but it's called **_**Partners in Crime**_**. It features ClonegeuseShipping (ArcherxAriana) and the zany misadventures of Proton and Lambda (Petrel)! Many people have said that they wanted to see more from me about them, so that is what I have done. So, if you feel in the mood, please head on over to it and check it out! I'm not trying to endorse it, but it's turning out that way... Over the next little while, Imma try to update the more neglected stories of mine and focus on adding more to them instead of these ones. But I promise I'll be back whenever I have a spark of ideas and decide to write more about Ashley and what happens to her in the near future! Hey, I've got an idea: whoever can pitch the greatest title for the next chapter will not only get to name the next chappie, but will have an OC of their choice in the story! I know I'm not giving you much to work with, but I know there are a lot of creative people out there so go and make Haine-chan happy and think up titles for me, kayzies? Just make sure to get them in quick. See you soon! -Haine-chan**


	7. Don't Dream It's Over

**So before I start I want to announce the winner of my contest! And that is...**

**...****PeachyKeenx088! Her title, **_**Don't Dream It's Over,**_** fits this chapter perfectly! Thanks to all others who submitted (mainly adventurerXD). I secretly snuck your title in this cahppie somewhere, so look out for it! I wish I could have gotten more but, meh, I'll deal. And PeachyKeen,x088 I'll PM you an OC form for your OC so I can include him/her in future chappies. **

**And I have another playlist, much to adventurerXD's chagrin. xD Even though there's really only two songs I could put down. It goes like this...**

_**Ghost**_** – Fefe Dobson – The dream sequence.**

_**Do Somethin'**_** – Britney Spears – Proton chases Ashley**

**Kayzies, onward to the seventh chappie! **

Chapter 7

Don't Dream It's Over

As I watched the setting sun, I could feel my heart drop with it. I was _not _going to get to Ecruteak before dark.

Sure, I'd escaped Team Rocket and had finally gotten a breath of fresh air without one of them breathing down my neck. But I had wasted a sufficient amount of time trying to con my way through their Executives. Trust me, it wasn't easy. Ariana was less-than willing to bend and Archer was the interim head. For some reason, though, I had made it. And I wasn't planning on going back. The only good thing about them was that their HQ kept me safe from the weird things that lurked in the cover of night. I didn't know how to tell the time using the sun, so I took a wild guess and assumed it was around eight o' clock. _Great_, I thought with a sigh, _that's Hilary's bed time. Right now I would've been hogging the computer and typing away at my homework. _

Thinking about my home made my heart twang in sadness. I was starting to miss the familiarity of my room, with all of its anime posters and CDs scattered on the floor. The yells from my mother telling me to clean it up, my father's monotone voice shouting at me to 'listen to my mother'. I'm not a very...cleanly person. But who is when you're a teenager and would rather read manga then take the initiative to clean your room?

Continuing on the gravel path, I passed Moo Moo Farm with all of the miltank lumbering around a paddock. Since night was about to fall and there weren't any streetlights on the road, I tripped over a rock and landed on my face in the gravel. I must have made a loud thud when I fell because the door to the house on the property opened. I ducked behind a tree to avoid being caught. A young girl with dark pigtails came out and scanned the area.

"Hilary, what is it?" An older woman, who was most likely her mother, came out. Hilary looked around again and shrugged her shoulders. "Please, come back inside. It was probably just a rattata or something." Feeling pleased with the answer, she hopped back in the house.

I had to fight back tears as I thought of my own Hilary. The similarities between the two defied definitions. They were both curious, loved to wear their hair in pigtails and shared the name 'Hilary'. Gosh, I missed her. Even if she could be annoying as heck sometimes. She just wanted my attention. I was her older sister. Now I didn't want to stay here anymore. I wanted to go home.

But with the sun just a sliver against the waters of the ocean, I couldn't leave. _At least not tonight._ I needed to find a place to hunker down for the night and rest my weary bones. Taking out a pokeball from my belt, I released Flannery and commanded her to use ember to light the way. With a little ball of flame bouncing above the path, I now knew I was bordering Route 38. I still had a long way to go before returning to Ecruteak. Finding a little part of grass that was away from the sights of the farm but close enough to the path that I wouldn't know where to go in the morning, I sat down and huffed.

"I think this is good, Flan," I said. She dropped onto the ground and the ember dimmed slightly. Using my hands, I pressed the grass down until it was flat enough to be a sort of bed. I curled up into a little ball and returned Flannery. The ember went out and I stared at the stars. _For a parallel dimension, this sky is really pretty. And the stars are something else. I wish I knew what constellations they have here. That would help me go to sleep. Or at least help me get Team Rocket off of my mind. I shouldn't sleep in too long. Those pesky trainers will be back in the morning and will most likely challenge me. And there's no way to decline their nosey offers. _I turned on my side and sighed.

_Maybe my dreams will help me escape._

xxXXxx

Once I fell asleep, I started to dream. I was standing in the forest behind my house. The trees rustled with a sudden wind. I felt it on my arms and it sent Goosebumps up and down them. I kept spinning around to try and find a way out, but the trees were blocking any exit. Clutching my shoulders, I closed my eyes and wished I was awake. Something grazed my leg and I let out a small scream. Thankfully, it was only my Umbreon who was trying to keep warm by staying close to me. I knelt down and hugged it, its fur warm. It started to hiss and growl and I lifted my head to see a figure emerging from the shadows. "W-who's there?" I called, trying to stop my voice from shaking. Umbreon backed away and bared its teeth as the figure emerged from the shadows. I gasped as I noticed the darkness clinging to his skin. How was that even possible? I shook my head and kept chanting in my head 'it's just a dream, it's just a dream'. Thinking that I was finally awake, I opened my eyes. Sadly, though, it hadn't worked and the figure was getting closer and closer. Only a few meters separated us. I bit my lip and sprinted from my spot, thinking that I would rather bear bush-whacking my way through the forest then have to stare at the oncoming creeper. Umbreon followed suit. When I reached the trees, I extended my hand to try and push aside the snarled braches. As soon as I touched one of the branches, I felt an electric current rip through my muscles and zap me. I gasped and held my hand close to my mouth. _How did trees get the ability to shock people whenever they feel like it?_ That meant that, unless I gained the ability to jump high in thirty feet into the air, I was screwed.

Facing the figure face on, I swallowed my pride and closed my eyes. Pretending to be confident, I said, "This is _my _dream. You're not welcome here."

This didn't seem to shake him in any way, as he proceeded to laugh quite maniacally at my feeble attempt at trying to make him leave. Balling my fists, I grinded my teeth and tried to find another way to get him out of my dream. In the middle of my thoughts, however, the mystery person spoke.

"Even in your dreams, Ashley, you can't escape your destiny."

The voice was deep and definitely male. Suddenly, I started to see him. The shadows started to lift and it revealed a pure white outfit; the exact opposite of what I assumed he'd be wearing. His bright hair looked like a shining beacon on his head. A large 'R' was emblazoned on his shirt and a malicious grin was spread across his face. His eyes stared at me, a hint of curiosity glimmering in them. I now recognized him.

"Archer."

xxXXxx

I awoke from my dream drenched in sticky sweat and panting like a dog in the middle of summer. The sun was up again and I could see a few trainers standing around waiting for passers-by. _It must not have been that early in the morning, or else there would be a lot more trainers out. And it would've been degrees hotter. _I brushed off the twigs and leaves that had attached themselves to my clothing during the night. I shuddered as I started to wipe the sweat from my face. I never liked sweat. That's why I avoided any sport or physical activity that made you sweat excessively. After I had cleaned my face, I stretched out my now cramped legs and wished I had picked a more comfortable position to sleep in. I stood up, collected my things and scanned the path for any trainer that could see me and challenge me to a battle. Not seeing any immediate threats, I continued walking down that path I had the previous evening.

I started to space out and reminisce on last night's dream. Of all the people to dream about, why had it been Archer? How could I have been shocked by a TREE? How could I have been so stupid and not command Umbreon to use some sort of attack on either the trees or Archer? And why did he say that 'even in my dreams, I couldn't escape my destiny'? It sounded a bit cryptic for Archer. I tried to shake off the weird feeling I got when I thought back to what had occurred in my subconscious. I had never had such a crazy dream before. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was in some kind of alternate dimension. Did that make any sense whatsoever? Should this dimension even _exist?_

Since I had been too immersed in thinking about last night's dream, I hadn't heard the approaching footsteps. As soon, as I stopped walking, so did the noise. _Okay, this is creepy. Focus, Ashley, focus. It's probably just some psychotic Pokémon! Yeah, that's it! Just keep walking and it'll leave you alone._ Trying my best to ignore the looming footsteps, I walked a little and then froze. The footsteps stopped too. _Okay...this guy must be a ninja or something. I have to get out of here. _

"Lost, little girl?"

I spun around, almost giving myself whiplash in the process, and noticed a man who was standing a few meters away from me. I couldn't get a good look at his features, but it looked like it was a man in a shady outfit. This could only mean one thing...

_I'm being stalked...AGAIN!_

"No, actually," I retorted, thinking that this was a stalker who was intending on mugging me. "Sorry to disappoint you." I promptly turned away and started to walk again. My mind started to race. _Oh, great, it's not a psychotic Pokemon that's stalking me it's a psychotic HUMAN! Ten times worse! If I run, he'll probably run to catch up with me. But if I continue to walk, he could easily catch me off guard! If I was closer to the city then it wouldn't be so bad. At least then people would notice if he tried to mug me... _

"Think you can walk away from reality like you do in your dreams, Ashley?"

At the mention of my name, I looked again and noticed who it was. I gasped a little louder then I had intended. Instead of the man I was anticipating (and ultimately hoping NOT to run into again)—Archer—someone else stood in his wake. A face I hadn't seen in a while...

"P-Proton?"

"In the flesh," he replied nonchalantly. He started to walk towards me.

In an attempt to try and stop him from getting any closer to me, I put my hand out in front of me, swallowed my pride and said, "Don't come any closer to me!"

He tilted his head to the side a little and blinked. Did he not think I had any confidence? I could prove that I wasn't just a shy teenager who didn't know how to go back home. I could show him that I knew what I was doing and that I knew where I was going, even though I'd never been to this place in my life before. Heck, I could try and pretend to make him think that I was born here! Or at least, I tried to look that way. In reality, I was screaming inside thinking, 'now you've done it, Ashley! Team Rocket's found out where you ran off to!' Mentally berating myself would not only distract me from him, but would also send me into paranoia.

A bout of hysterical laughter rang through the area and I looked to see Proton clutching his abdomen and trying not to die of laughter. Did he think my whole 'fake confidence thing' was a joke? I was trying to tell him to back off without looking like an idiot! I cracked my knuckles menacingly and felt myself growling a bit. Being laughed at was NOT something I enjoyed.

"What's so funny?" I said, folding my arms over my chest, huffing loudly and tapping my foot on the path.

Proton stopped his hysterical bout of laughter and straightened his posture. A Cheshire grin spread across his face and I gulped back a gasp of terror. Not only had he quickly recovered from his fit of giggles, but he now looked...devious. Conniving. Thinking of a plan. _This didn't look good anymore. I think I prefer the laughing one._

"Do you know why I followed you here?" Proton asked, walking slowly towards me. I started backing up, trying to make the distance between us the same as it was before. Or maybe longer.

I shook my head, not thinking to say that he followed me by using some sort of hidden tracking device that Archer had slipped somewhere onto my pack while I was still their captive.

"It's quite obvious," he said, chastising me like a five-year-old. "Want to take a guess?"

"Not really," I said, being truthful.

He chuckled slightly. "Are you sure? Well, I can't hold it any longer. I came so I could kidnap you."

I paused. "Again?"

Proton tipped his hat and said, "You should thank me: it's better that I'm coming to get you instead of Archer or Ariana. Boy, you should've seen her face when she realized that you had escaped!" I shuddered, thinking of what the scenario would look like if it were either one of them. "She almost had a cow, she was that ticked!" Proton stopped for a minute. "But I have to hand it to you. No other captive of ours has been able to escape numerous times." I felt my heart skip a beat to hear such a compliment from him. "Though, it has been fairly easy to get you back." That just turned the tables. He extended his index finger and motioned for me to come to him. "Now, be a good little girl and come quietly."

"No."

"That's not the answer I was looking for."

"Oh, I know it wasn't. And I don't intend on going back there anytime soon."

"Really now?" he said coyly. "I didn't want to do this, but you've forced me to take desperate measures."

What did he mean? Was he going to call for backup? Was he going to call Archer? Ariana? Petrel? My mom? Knowing that he was a man that went by the nickname 'the scariest and cruelest of Team Rocket', I decided to book it out of there. It was the only thing my stupid brain could think of.

Bad idea.

As soon as I turned, I could hear him thundering after me. Adrenaline surging through my veins, my pace began to quicken, but so did his. I almost got to the building connecting Ecruteak and Route 38 when I felt an arm snake around my waist. I was hoisted back and I felt my guts squeeze together painfully. Wincing, I tried to break free, but he pulled me over his shoulder in one quick swoop. I screamed in terror and tried desperately to get out. I guessed that this was his 'desperate measure'. I sure thought it was desperate. I was heavy! None of my friends could lift me off the ground. That made Proton extremely strong. OR he was able to carry me weight easily. Those made my friends look weak. Kicking my legs furiously and beating my hands on his back, I tried to weaken him.

That didn't work. AT ALL.

"I told you that if you didn't come quietly, I'd have to take desperate measures." Proton chastised as he started walking back in the direction of the HQ, with me flailing like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

"LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!" I yelled.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said, "you had that chance. But you blew it. Not only will you be embarrassed to death, but you'll be back in our—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a leaf with razor sharp edges skimmed over Proton's hat. He turned around to see a large meganium and a small girl poised behind it. I heard him growl a bit as the girl walked closer to us. She had dark brown hair, which was in two extremely high pigtails. She was wearing overalls and had a huge hat was on top of her head (it was probably bigger then her head!) I recognized the girl almost instantly.

"K-Kotone Soul?" I whispered.

"Let her go, Proton," she said confidently. Dang, she sounded so fearless! I wished I was like her, both in boldness and power.

He laughed. "You think a little leaf will stop me, Kotone? Think again."

He released his golbat, now full of energy and commanded it to use poison fang on the meganium. It dodged and hurled a storm of leaves at the bat. It grimaced at the pain, but did not faint. Knowing he wasn't down for the count, Proton told it to use air cutter. The meganium wasn't fast enough and it braced for the hit. The Pokemon collapsed on the ground. Instead of fainting, it slowly got back up, taking the golbat by surprise. Kotone commanded it to use synthesis, making the meganium regain its power. Quickly, it charged the golbat and used body slam, completely knocking it out. Proton growled under his breath and returned the bat to its Pokeball.

"It seems you haven't lost your touch," he praised.

"Nor have you," she said.

"But I'm afraid I'm too busy to catch up on old times." He started sprinting away from Kotone, making me bob up and down uncontrollably. I felt nauseous. I heard her scream at him to stop, but he didn't even glance back. He was so fast, the trees blurred together, making a green montage. I was screwed! My only hope at escaping...gone. Was I ever going to get out of Team Rocket's grip?

As soon as I had accepted my fate, I heard a whirring sound _whoosh_ by me. In a matter of seconds, I was falling, the ground coming closer and closer with every second. I crumpled on the grass and rolled over a little. I noticed Proton being knocked away from me. _That Kotone must have used solarbeam or something on Proton! That's why we were broken apart._

Whoa—did I just say 'broken apart'?

Looking over at him, I noticed that he had been knocked unconscious. That must have been a powerful solarbeam if it was powerful enough to not only make Proton let go of me, but also knock him out cold!

I felt a hand help me up and I saw Kotone leaning over me, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked, genuine worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah...I guess..." I said, rubbing the back of my head.

She lifted me up and I dusted myself off. I didn't have a second to breathe before Kotone was releasing another Pokemon. A gigantic pidgeot came out and Kotone heaved herself on top of it. She started waving at me to hop on.

"Come on!" she yelled, "There's not much time!"

Shaking the doubt from my head, I walked over to the bird and grabbed for Kotone's outstretched hand. She lifted me up and I held onto the bird's soft feathers. I knew I could trust Kotone: after all, she was the main protagonist of the games and was known as a general good girl. As we soared higher into the sky, I couldn't help but look down on Proton, who was now getting up from the ground. All I could see was his glare piercing through me.

His eyes were full of sorrow.

**A/N Hello again! ^,^ I'm back! So, did you like this one? I thought of adding Kotone fairly late in the story, so her appearance was a last-minute thing. And I'm using her Japanese name instead of her English name, Lyra. And I thought it was cool to merge both her Jap. And her game name together! :D I hope that this was good and I haven't left anyone in the dark on anything! I'll see you in the next chappie! – Haine-chan**

**P.S. Hey, PeachyKeenx088! Don't forget to send me your OC, kay? :) Thanks!**


	8. The One Who Descended From the Sky!

Chapter 8

The One Who Descended From The Sky!

Watching Proton disappear as we soared through the sky, I clutched the pidgeot's feathers harder. Seeing him like that made my eyes well up with tears. Squeezing them tightly to avoid a meltdown, I tried to focus on something other than feeling guilty over being saved from the bad guys. I glanced over Kotone's shoulder and noticed we were soaring over Goldenrod. How did I know? I saw the Radio Tower gleaming through the translucent clouds. If I squinted, I could see people milling around the city, going to the PokeMart or going into the Game Corner. I doubted that she knew that I wanted to go to Ecruteak, so I didn't bother asking her why we weren't going there. But I did want to know if she was going to regroup with some other people I could only guess at. I sighed and poked her shoulder.

"Uh...Kotone?" I asked, a little wary at first. What if she bit my head off and told me to shut up for the rest of the trip? Maybe she needed to concentrate and didn't need my annoying voice yapping in her ear. "Where exactly are we going?"

She turned her head to look at me and said, "We're going to the Day Care. My grandparents run it and it's where we're going to keep you safe. Don't worry; all of these people I would trust with my life." I sighed in relief, happy she didn't want to kill me, as she turned away from me. "At least for now." She murmured under her breath.

Sooner than I had anticipated, we landed at the Day Care. Kotone recalled her pidgeot and I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, combing out all of the knots that had accumulated during our flying trip. She motioned for me to come in and she held the door open for me. Once inside, I noticed an elderly man and an elderly woman sitting on opposite sides of a kotatsu table. When they saw Kotone, they smiled, revealing some pretty fancy false teeth.

"Kotone, my child!" the woman said happily, spreading her arms out for a hug.

"Grandma!" she said, equally joyful as she ran over and embraced her.

"Don't forget me," the man said. Noticing that he had been neglected, Kotone then ran over and gave him a hug, too. I just stood there awkwardly, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for an introduction.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, waving her hand in the air dismissively. "This is Ashley Conrad. You know, the girl I was talking to you about..."

This tone that she was using was totally different from the tone she used when she was up against Proton. She seemed a lot more...childish. How could someone go from calm to crazy so easily?

"Welcome, child," the woman said, outstretching her hand. I hesitated at first, but then I clasped it. She shook it and held it tightly, showing me that I didn't need to be so cautious around them. "Do not worry; you're safe now."

"Thanks," I said. She released my hand and I turned to look at Kotone again.

"Right. Since we're here, why don't I introduce you to my friends?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, not really being able to do anything else but agree.

She smiled and rushed over to the door that led to the outdoor facility of the day care. Opening the door, she ran out and yelled for someone to come in. Apparently, no one heard her, so she shouted, "Come on, guys!" I heard some footsteps and she held the door open for the oncoming crowd of people. As each of them walk through, I recognize them almost immediately (being addicted to the games). But, I know that if I started naming them off like I'd known them for years, they'd not only be disturbed but a little hesitant to trust me. Heck, they might even WANT me to be taken by Team Rocket. So I restrained from showing any signs of recognition. "This is Hibiki Gold," She pointed to a young boy who shyly walked up to me and shook my hand. He wore a baseball cap, which was on backwards (something that always annoyed me), black Capri's, a red jacket and had blue hair that stuck out from under his hat. After he shuffled away from me awkwardly, another boy walked through the doors. "This is Silver Sakaki," That brooding red-head I had started a battle with a few days ago now stood at me with cold, blood-red eyes. His stare made me shiver a bit. Not wanting to be social, he huffed and left the way he came. I blinked and Kotone said, "He's always like that. Don't take it personally." I held back a scoff. _Oh, really? _I thought sarcastically, _I would've never known._

As Kotone was about to speak, we heard a sickening crash from the outside part of the Day-Care.

"There's someone here!" Hibiki said nervously.

Kotone and I exchanged a glance. "Team Rocket, no doubt." I said. We both headed to the door.

I was mentally preparing myself for a face-to-face confrontation with one of the Executives. The main threat would be if they, in an attempt o get me back, harmed the people and Pokemon in the Day-Care. All of those innocent things...being hurt because of me. I cringed just thinking about it. We hesitated at the door, but after I quickly nodded to Kotone, she opened it. But what we saw was certainly NOT and Executive.

We both see a gigantic fearow land on the ground softly. Its wings beat up the gravel, plowing it into our faces. I raise my hands instinctively to prevent the dirt from getting in my eyes and, ultimately, blinding me. I grunt as its wings spread out and revealed a girl who didn't look older than eighteen. She jumped down gracefully and patted the bird on its head, praising it for some reason or another. She started walking towards us, and I backed up a little. You know, just in case she pounced on me or something.

"Ashley Conrad?" she said, her voice booming.

I gulped. "Y...yes...?"

"I found you." She found me? What did she mean? I realized that she was almost in front of us. I didn't know if she was a friend or a foe. _She could be an undercover spy sent by Team Rocket to infiltrate the Day Care and kidnap me in the process. Or she could be a bounty hunter here for the money on my head! _

"Hold on," Kotone interjected, stepping in front of me. She poised a pokeball between her fingers. The girl stopped. "Why have you come here and how did you find us?" she asked defensively.

"No need to get your overalls in a knot, Miss Soul," she sassed, strolling right past her. "You can trust me."

"What...?" Kotone whispered, not even trying to block her when she finally stood face-to-face with me.

Her bright blue eyes pierce through me, shocking me. I finally get a good look at her; she has wavy, long black hair (a bit longer than mine, actually) and a soft ivory complexion. I can't see a blemish on her face. I automatically touch my face, trying to cover a zit I think is there. I notice she's a bit taller than me and is quite thin. She wore light blue skinny jeans, brown boots with a flat bottom that come up just below her knee, a long sleeved, dark blue shirt, with flowing open sleeves and a white button-up vest. A black and white messenger bad is slung across her shoulder. I also notice a white PokeGear around her wrist. "Hello there, Ms. I'm From a Different Dimension. Is that a story you like to tell people so that they'll think of you as special? OR are you really from some alternate universe where black is the new fad?"

"I am!" I yelled, not stopping the though from passing through my lips. As soon as it left, though, I immediately regretted it. I also felt badly about being so forward with a girl who had stood up to Kotone Soul and even sassed her.

"Sure..." she said, ignoring my remark. I growled under my breath and tried not to punch her in the face.

"Myla Castellon," All three of us turned to see Silver leaning in the door frame like he owned the place. His arms were folded and a smile played on his lips. "Asked Lance about our rematch yet?"

"Haven't yet, Skippy," said Myla, stepping past him as she entered the Day-Care.

"It's SILVER!" he shouted.

"Whatever."

xxXXxx

I soon learned that this 'Myla Castellon' was a friend, not a foe, and that she opposed everything Team Rocket stood for. Everyone was relieved when she told us that, but I still wasn't sure I would entrust my life to her. At least not yet. She still had some explaining to do. We all sat around Kotone's grandparent's kotatsu table (which, to be honest, was a tight squeeze), eyes glued on Myla.

"Here's the deal," she started, "My name is Myla Castellon. I'm training in the dragon's Den. MY father is an elder there. Lance is one of my closest friends. I also am on good terms with Jasmine, Falkner, and Clair." She stopped and stared out into space for a few seconds before shaking her head and continuing again, "Anyhow, as to how I know about Ashley and your whereabouts, Lance told me all about it. Your situation, who you are, why Team Rocket has an unusual interest in you, and the team of people who's trying to keep you safe. I also knew that Kotone had planned to intervene should Team Rocket try and pick you up on your way through this region. Does that answer all of your questions?"

Kotone's grandmother let out a sigh. "Ah, that he did. Little Kotone warned us of the threat those thugs could pose to Johto and young Ashley, as well."

Kotone immediately chirped in, "Ashley, I hope you don't mind this, but we've arranged for you to stay with us until we can regroup with the others and figure out exactly what Team Rocket's up to and what they want with you. Don't worry—you'll be safe with us."

Trying to ignore the fact that I was being forced to stay with these almost-strangers, I smiled weakly and said, "Sure."

In a matter of minutes, Kotone's grandparents had closed the Day-Care up for the night—the sun was starting to set already—gotten extra sleeping bags from a supply closet for everyone to sleep in, and arranged a sort of sleeping area for their four additional guests. I was assuming Kotone stayed over frequently, since she slept on an air mattress. They made us go to sleep early—eight o' clock to be exact. It was outrageous, in my mind. I was a teenager: I stay up until two in the morning and sleep in until twelve in the afternoon! At this rate, we'd never get anything done! _Shouldn't our plans be fulfilled in the cover of night?_ I asked myself as I laid in my bag, wide awake. _But, then again, I have no idea what their planning to do._ Knowing that they were letting me stay in their house for free, I shut my mouth and laid in my sleeping back, awaiting sleep to come.

xxXXxx

I couldn't get to sleep.

Not after they forced me to retire at eight o' clock. Not after all of the things they plan on doing. I actually tried falling asleep, but I would be constantly reminded of why I was still here and the ever-looming presence of Team Rocket. In the back of my mind, I made up a crazy dream in which I wake up and I'm back home with my mom yelling at me to wake up, it's time for school, why are you so lazy? Then there'd be Hilary wanting me to help her pick the best outfit to impress the boy in her math class. That would make me late for my own agenda and then I'd have to explain it to everyone. All of this would most certainly take my mind off of the crazy and odd dream I had the previous evening. Besides, sleep was impossible when the dimming sun's rays were still finding a way through the thin curtains of the window.

I needed to get some fresh air. Away from everyone else. A place where only nature was there to hear me ramble on to myself.

Lifting the cover of my sleeping bag carefully, I quietly slipped out of the bedroom. I nearly rammed my foot into the side of Silver's head, and I had been contemplating doing so, but then I'd completely blow my cover. So I had resisted the urge to kick the jerk-face hard. The door was extremely creaky and made noises that sounded like a cat in wet cement. So slowly, slowly, I finally opened and closed it without anyone jumping up. Although I heard a few "oh, Silver...oh, Gold's" come from Kotone.

When I finally make it out of the Day-Care, I figured it's been about ten minutes. I sprinted a little to the edge of the water that is directly across from the building. I sat down and dipped my feet into the cool water. It felt so nice that I let out a soft sigh. Walking over half of Johto _did_ come with its disadvantages. Especially when it came to your feet.

Staring out at the sunset, I couldn't help but think of home. Back there I would've been ignoring the sun and focusing on trying to keep Hilary out of my room so I could watch anime in peace. I hadn't realized how...beautiful it could be. I had always thought it was bad; with all of the skin cancers and heating of the earth, I'd never liked it. But now, staring at it, with all of its brilliant colours, I couldn't help sighing contently to myself. Never in my fifteen years had I seen such a wonderful sunset. Reds mixed with blues, making a dull purple. They stretched out across the sky, like someone had used a paintbrush and painted the sky with them. Light pinks and yellows dotted it, too. This really helped to take my mind off of everything that had happened in the past week.

Footsteps broke my thoughts, and I turned around to notice Myla walking up to me with a chastising look on her face. _Oh, crap, _I thought, _I've been caught red-handed!_

"I couldn't sleep," I said, trying to make it sound like it was insomnia that made me sneak out so late at night instead of a quick-ditch attempt at trying to run away.

"Bullcrap," she swore, taking a seat beside me. She dangled her feet over the edge, allowing the cool sea water lap against her skin. She let out a soft sigh.

How could she have known that I was too stressed about the plans to sleep? I hadn't told anyone about my anxiety over the whole thing. Maybe she knew how fidgety I was throughout the whole seminar. I couldn't blame her.

"Okay, you got me," I said, putting my hands in the air. "Take me downtown."

She scoffed. "Like I'd do that." The playful tone in her voice quickly evaporated as she looked me in the eye and added, "But, seriously, why are you out here? Don't you respect Kotone's wishes? Or are you a born trouble maker?"

"It's not like I _wanted_ to go against her rules, I just needed to..." I paused, trying to find the right word that would explain my thoughts and not make me look like a complete idiot.

"Get away for a while?" she cut in, completing my sentence perfectly.

"Yeah," I said, sighing a little. We both turned to stare at the sunset again.

"Sometimes..." Myla started, "I just feel...overprotective of people I know. Do you ever feel that way?"

I smiled a little, remembering my family. "Yeah, I do."

"So you'd know how it felt to be constantly worrying about them, right?"

"Uh-huh."

She sighed and dropped her gaze. "That's...kinda how I'm feeling about Lance. The last time I talked with him was when he informed me all about you. And that was...oh, I don't know, three days ago."

I started to get curious. "What kind of things did he tell you about me?"

"He told me about who you were, your name, how you got here, how Team Rocket's got its eye on you, how many times you've gotten captured and escaped, what he's tried to do to keep you safe...yadda, yadda, yadda..." She paused and looked at me in the eyes. "After that, when I tried to reach him again to ask for your location, he wouldn't answer his PokeGear. That's not like him at all." I noticed her fidgeting with her Pokeballs nervously. "I don't know what's happened to him. He's the League Champion. You don't just go missing for days and not go unnoticed like that. I just...wish I knew where he was."

I thought back to when I escaped TR's HQ. Lance and the others had still been unconscious. I had left without making sure they were alright. _I'm such a selfish pig!_ I thought.

"Well..." I started pondering whether or not I should actually tell Myla that I abandoned him while he was at his weakest. But she had been so open with me, so I felt the need to tell her anything about Lance that I knew. "The last time I saw him was when he and the others—I mean, Ash, Misty, Brock, Morty and Eusine—had tried to rescue me from Team Rocket at their HQ in Olivine City. When they tried to stop Ariana from literally choking me to death, she knocked them out with her vileplume. When I distracted her and Archer, I bolted out of there, without even seeing if they were ok." She stopped playing with her Pokeballs and faced me face-on. "I feel like a selfish pig!" I added. I had to make sure she knew that I felt horribly about that decision (which, in all honesty, I did).

She furrowed her brow in frustration and broke her gaze. I started wincing for fear of being slapped. But she did the exact opposite. "At least you're honest." She half-smiled half-grunted as she pushed back a stray hair from her face. "Who can blame you? I mean, they wanted you not him. And I assume he'd be able to take care of himself. But, if all you say is indeed true—"

"Which it is," I defended.

She shot me a look and continued, "Why isn't he back yet? Or returned my calls?"

"Maybe he's been captured by Team Rocket in an attempt to get me back," I said. That was what came to mind first.

She blinked. "You may be right." She got up suddenly, throwing me off. She stuck her arm out extended her index finger to me. "But how are you going to get him back?"

"Me!" I said, startled by her accusing, witty smile. "I can't do this on my own! Their Team rocket, for crying out loud! If they get as much as one whiff of my scent, it'll send them into a frenzy in which I'll be kidnapped for, like, the third time in the past week or so!"

She grinned wickedly. "Are you saying you need my help, Ms. Different Dimension?"

"Yes!" I yelled, not knowing what to do without the Dragon Den Elder's daughter.

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. I can see that she's pondering whether or not she wants to be enlisted in this mission. "Isn't it you who's concerned for his welfare?" She stopped smiling and glared at me. She stayed like that for a good thirty seconds before finally sighing and saying, "You're right." I sighed myself, knowing that I wouldn't be completely alone. "But," I perked up at the tone she used when saying that little word. "I'll need you to agree on a few things before I join you on this rescue mission." I nodded, knowing this was bound to come up eventually. No way would she be dragged around with me all over Johto and have no reward. "Firstly, you will do everything and anything I say, regardless of your own thoughts on it. Secondly, every battle we run into, we'll split; I'll take one, you take one, like that. And thirdly, when we get to Lance, I'll be the first one to explain what's happened during his disappearance. Well? What do you say, _Girl From Another World_?" I growl under my breath and think about the three rules she gave me. Sharing battles would be no problem; my Pokemon would get tired anyways. Telling Lance...I'd eventually get over that. But having to heed her every word? Lance had better be thankful when we save him.

"Okay." I sighed.

"Good." She started walking off and I started to get up when she added, "By the way, you should learn to be sneakier when you're trying to avoid detection. You sound like an elephant."

I remembered my mom saying that about me and wanted to tell her that it was rude of her to bring it up when I was in such a fragile state of mind, why would she do that to me? But, I knew she wasn't there to hear my mom utter that to me back at home, so I sneered a bit and then mock-smiled. "I'll try and work on that."

**Why, hello again! Don't you just LOVE filler? . Sorry, this had to be, I needed some stuff to be explained and for other random crap to happen. . Holy cow, eighth chapter already? Never expected that to happen so fast! I wonder what I'll do when I get to the double digit chapters... I apologize for the long delay on this chapter. I had it written down but sadly I was too lazy to type it up. I wish there was a thing that could take your written word and put it in your computer without the stupid and tedious task of typing every single word in. **

**If you guys are wondering how long this is gonna go on for, this won't be more than fifteen to eighteen chapters. I know how it ends already, that's all I'm gonna say. But I'M a nice gal and am willing to give you an anime inspired 'next episode' thing that describes what happens in the next chapter:**

_Hey, everyone, Ashley here. At first, I thought the plan to save Lance and the others was a great idea. But that was before we left the Day-Care and the safety there is in numbers. As soon as we got to Ecruteak, I realize that I'm not as safe as I'd like to be. Newspapers with my face on it are circulating throughout Johto, spreading lies about why I'm here and who I really am! It even includes a wanted poster! How will we be able to find Lance with my newly found celebrity status? Will Myla and I be able to lay low until we reach the outskirts of town? And who's that shady guy who looks strangely like Proton that's been stalking us through town? Tune in to find out on chapter! _

**Hope that gives you a sense of what's to come! For some reason, I like writing very long chapter summaries, like the above. When I was writing that, I got visual pictures in my head, like this story was an anime or something. ^.^ BTW, how did I do, PeachyKeenx088? Was Myla as you pictured her to be? If not, feel free to tell me how YOU imagined her to act. Alrighty, I'm off to work on a one-shot for Saturn! And, hopefully, another chapter of this! Or any of my other fics. :D Another BTW, I'll be playing with the type of POV in future chapters. It'll still be in Ashley's POV, but it'll be more present than past tense. I think that's it!**

**-Haine-chan**


	9. Fate Is A Touchy Subject

Chapter 9

We both decide it would be a good idea if we left the others behind when it was still dark. That way, we would be ensured a quick and easy getaway without letting on that we were gone. We didn't want them tracking us down and have them lock us in the Day-Care for countless hours on end. And, besides, travelling in the cover of night would allow us to sneak into Goldenrod without any nosy Team Rocket grunt noticing us and reporting us to their superiors.

I am still under Myla's Three Rules to a Safe Rescue Mission. (At least that's what I like to call it.) She makes up the plans as we go, tells me when to speak, when to eat, what battles to take, and finally, when and where to sleep. It's annoying, to tell you the truth, but it helps to keep me in line. Heck, it's the most organized I've been since I landed here. I think about writing everything down and, when this whole thing is over, I could improve my work habits and impress my mom.

It takes us a good two hours to get out of the Goldenrod borders. Myla just had to make sure no one, and I mean _no one_, spotted us, for fear of being ratted out in some way or another. That meant sneaking behind numerous buildings like double agents anytime someone walked twenty feet away from us. Oh, and there was the annoying-as-ever reminders to 'stay behind me—you don't want that little head of yours to get hurt'. It was extremely hard to not snap at her. But I did owe her a pile of thanks for even accepting my offer to save Lance. Without me, she'd probably have saved him by now and would be sipping tea at her home. By the time we reach Ecruteak, its mid-morning. The sun beats down on us hard, making us both sweat. It was a bad idea to wear completely black.

The city gate greets us and we go through it and take in our surroundings. There's a PokeCenter, Mart, houses, Gym, the Burned and Bell Towers and a market place in the middle of it all. _I never realized there was a market here!_ I think to myself. _It would've been cool to pick up some items here in my game. I wonder if Myla's ever been here before. _I look to Myla who looks calm and collected, as usual. But I see a flicker of something in her eyes that tells me that she's actually excited to be here. I smirk. _Maybe I can use this to my advantage,_ I think as we proceed through the market.

Dozens of stores are in neat rows throughout the street. Vendors yell at us to try their wares and to try a free sample or two. I try and ignore them, as I'm used to picky salespeople back home, but Myla wants to actually go up to some of them and see what they've got. I scoff. She's such a market-place newb. I sneak up behind her and pull her away, much to her chagrin.

"Maybe we should look at something else." I suggest.

"You're a real pain, you know that, right?" she says.

"I pride myself on that particular feature of my personality," I reply sarcastically. She rolls her eyes and we start to resume regular shopping. We pass many more stands, all of which are completely useless. But there's a newspaper stand at the end of the particular row we're perusing that catches my eye almost as soon as I lay my eyes on it. I motion for Myla to come over and we both pick up the day's issue. The thing that I see first completely catches me off guard.

My face is on the cover.

I can't help but let a gasp escape my lips. Myla is shocked too, as she groans in frustration.

"Great," she mutters under her breath, "Just great. Not only will the others know that you're gone but the whole darned region will know who you are and where you've come from!"

"No..." I mutter as I scan the article. I pick up that they have released my name, my appearance, where I was last spotted, and who's been seen with me. I feel like Britney Spears! The picture of me isn't a very nice one; it was taken shortly after I had landed near the Day-Care. My hair was still frazzled from flying there and I was looking off into the distance, like I was spacing out.

"Read the article," she commands. Since she's in a foul mood, I decide not to feed the flame and do what she says.

"_Ashley Conrad, a young girl recently found wandering the Johto region, has been spotted travelling with rising star Kotone Soul. They were seen fleeing on Kotone's pidgeot around Route 38 after an attempted mugging."_

"Mugging?" I ask skeptically. "Who made this crap up?"

"Keep reading!" Myla hisses.

"_The mugger has been identified as Myla Castellon, a supposed Dragon Elder's daughter from Blackthorn. This information seems to be a carefully planned façade, to make her seem like a decent person."_

She swears again and adds, "They know who I am, too. But that's a load of—"

"Now who's interrupting?" I say sarcastically.

"_Shortly after leaving the scene, the duo landed at the Day-Care Center near the Ilex Forest. Witnesses have reported that they saw Myla stalk them back and waited outside of the Day-Care until Ashley left. She then proceeded to attack, kidnap and force Ashley to do her bidding at the cost of her life."_

"They're making you look like a psychopath," I add.

"_Sources say that Myla is a known bounty hunter and is planning on using Ashley to receive power or money. They have been spotted heading towards Ecruteak City. Police have not released any information regarding Ashley's hometown or her background. If you or someone you know has any information regarding Ashley, please contact the number provided. A reward will be offered."_

Myla swears and crumples the paper. The vendor of the stand yells and demands that she pay for the broken merchandise. She tells him off and storms away. I automatically follow.

"Who do they think they are anyways, writing me off like that? Is this they're way of saying I should stay out of their way? Now there's no way I will!"

"Uh, Myla?" I ask.

"What?"

"Did you notice...the Wanted poster?" I take it out of my pocket and show her. (If you don't know, I took it out of the paper when I set mine back down and shoved it in my pocket. I knew we'd need it sometime in the future.) I give it to her and she unfolds it. She gasps. "What? Do you think the picture's ugly? It's not that bad, considering the angle and the lighting and whatnot, but—"

"Not that, stupid! This!" She points to the bottom of the paper, to the phone number and address attached.

"_Please call 1-800-762538 or visit our office in the Goldenrod Radio Tower."_

"I don't get it," I say.

"Well, you should," Myla snaps. She navigates through her bag and picks out a pad of paper and a pen. She scrawls down the number and address and starts decoding the numbers. "You know on the phone, that the numbers correspond with letters, right?"

"Right,"

"So, if we convert it, we get..."

We both stare at each other and say in unison, "ROCKET."

"I knew it!" she yells, throwing her hand up in the air and pacing. I furrow my brows and bury my face in my hands.

"What...? But how...could they...? Now how am I going to get home...?"

"You think you've got it tough?" she shouts. "I'm now known as a bounty hunter who wants to use your scrawny behind as a way of making money! If anyone recognizes me, I'm screwed to High Heaven!"

"This isn't good...Not good at all..."

"Not, it's not! Team Rocket must've had spies littered all over the region just waiting for you to do something conspicuous. Then they took pictures and made up this phony article to brainwash people into telling them where the heck you are! With that piece of paper zooming all across Johto, they'll be bound to find you before the end of the week! I'll be put in jail and you'll become their lab rat!"

"No...!"

"We are going to get caught. We're going to—"

"Just shut up, for a minute, will you?" I yell at her. Her mouth closes and she stares at me, hatred burning in her eyes. "We don't have to do what they want us to do. We can trick them; give them a false lead or something. That'll deter their attention while we..."

"We what, Ashley?"

"I...don't know..." I say.

"Great." She stops pacing and picks up the poster that had landed on the ground. "Now what?"

It hits me, like that; I noticed that I saw a fortune telling stall during our scan of the market. Maybe consulting a psychic or something might help me figure out what to do next. Heck, she might even be able to tell me what my destiny is!

"I know," I say and drag her back to the market.

xxXXxx

We reach the stall in less than five minutes. Myla stares at the sign and groans. It reads _Madame Martha's Psychic Readings and Fortune Telling._

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asks.

"Yep," I reply, hoping my voice isn't shaking as I say it. "You just wander around the shops like you would any other day. Is someone spots you or you spot Team Rocket, contact my PokeGear. I'll come out and we'll flee off into the sunset together. Well, not that way, but, you know. When I get out I will, hopefully, have a better sense of what I'm doing here and what I'm supposed to do next." I fish around in my pocket but I've forgotten I don't have any money to pay for it.

"Don't worry, Ms. Other-Worldly-Girl," she says, pulling out a wad of PokeDollars. "Make sure to get my change, will you?"

"Sure," I reply and head into the tent.

xxXXxx

The man peers from behind his hiding place in the forest and smiles. _Everything is going according to plan,_ he thinks silently to himself,_ just as it should be._ His accomplice lifts his binoculars and zooms in on the pair they have been watching for days now. He knows that they will be successful in their mission; there is no more room for error.

"They are approaching the target, sir," the accomplice states. He notices that the Dragon Tamer's daughter leaves the tent and goes off to do other things.

He smiles. "Initiate Phase One,"

xxXXxx

The inside of the otherwise shabby tent is actually really nicely furbished. Purple velvet curtains are draped around the vicinity of the room. A circular table sits in the middle of the room. A crystal ball is placed on it and weird colours and shapes are swirling around inside of it. Two chairs sat across from each other, one of which was occupied by someone. The 'someone' turns out to be an elderly lady wearing a long flowing black shawl. I automatically assume this is the 'Madame Martha' who owns the tent. I smile awkwardly and take a step inside.

"Come in, come in, my child." she coaxes. Her bony finger motions towards the unoccupied chair and I sit down. "What would you like Madame Martha to reveal to you? Your long forgotten past? A lover from your childhood? Your future? Or would you like to know the thoughts of others about you?"

All of these sounded awesome, but I knew it was a ploy to spend your money on stuff you probably already knew, so I put my money on the table and said, "Just my future, thank you."

She nods and snatches the bills away and stashes them under the table. "What is your name, dearie?"

That was the thing I'd hoped she wouldn't ask. So I make one up on the fly. "I'm...Georgie Henley!"

"Then, Georgie let us see into your future." She lifts her arms and starts to make weird motions around the crystal ball. "Anything in particular you wish to see?" she asks. I ponder that for a minute and say, "What are some of the future decisions I'll make?" I don't expect anything spectacular to happen when she continues her motions, but a flurry of colours erupts from the crystal and Martha gasps horribly.

"My dear," she says, "Your future is filled with treachery and lies!" She peers into the ball. "Betrayal is at your heel and those whom you trust will be tested!"

"But..." I can't seem to form words at this time. "What about me? What will I do?"

She looks away. "A future decision...will cost you dearly."

"But, what is it that will—?"

My PokeGear starts to go off. Madame Martha, who is now sweating like a pig, looks at me like I've grown an extra head. I gulp and excuse myself. "Hello?" I say.

"Ashley!" the voice hisses from the other line. "What is your deal? I've called three times now and you haven't responded!"

"Sorry!" I apologize. _I must've been too absorbed in my future to notice my phone ringing. _"What is it?"

"I've spotted the Rockets. They have one of their goonies placed right near me. He looks like he's been looking for us for a while. We should move out."

"I'm on my way. Where are you?"

"What? I can't hear you?"

I shake my head. "What do you mean? I can hear you just fine!"

"Ashley, you'd better not be breaking—!"

I begin to panic. "Myla!"

The line goes blank and I'm about to hang up when I hear someone's voice come on. "Myla's a little busy right now. If you'd like to speak with her, please surrender to the glory of Team Rocket!" _That voice sounds familiar..._

I'm shocked. How could they have continued Myla Castellon? How could they have intercepted my phone calls? Why did they want me to surrender so easily? "Not gonna happen, you Rocket nimrod!" I hang up and turn to the medium. "Thanks for your readings. I hope you have a wonderful life, Rocket-free!" I then proceed to bolt out of there. For the next ten minutes, I search all over the city for any sign of her. I don't find anything at all. She couldn't have just disappeared like that. She was a strong and independent girl; she could easily take a few Rocket goons if she wanted to. So why was it that I couldn't find her? I crumple onto the ground. I've landed at the gate that leads out to Mt. Mortar. The market's noise and din is far less loud over here. I sigh. _What am I going to do now?_

Something rubs against my leg. I look down to notice a shiny quilava looking up at me. For a minute, I wonder whose it is. But, due to the familiarity I feel for it, I know its Myla's.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, a little too enthusiastic.

He pushes his head in the gates direction.

"Myla went that way?"

It shakes its head.

"No? Then what?"

It growls and starts to draw something in the sand.

"Team Rocket."

It nods.

"Does she want me to help her?"

It shakes its head and growls.

"Does she want me to...?"

I'm cut off by it drawing another sketch in the gravel. It looks like a dragon mixed with a dying walrus.

"Hm...uh..." I pause. "Dragonite? Dying walrus? Oh, Lance!"

It nods and rolls its eyes.

"She wants me to save Lance?"

It smiles. I pause. How am I supposed to do that when there's a bounty on my head and Team Rocket's out for me?

An idea hit me like a ton of bricks. I could avoid this whole mess if I could get home. Then everyone wouldn't have to worry about me or what Team Rocket wanted to do with me. Myla could take care of herself and save Lance on her own. The others would carry on life without even remembering what my name was. I could resume my regular life as a girl of Earth, doing stupid school work, annoying my family and trying my best to get into a good school. This whole thing could be a bad dream. I would just go back home. The only question left was this: where was I going to go to transport myself back home?

I stand up and the quilava gives me an inquisitive look. "Sorry, but I have my own agenda now."

I walk through the gates, leaving the Pokémon to find its master on its own. I sigh and walk through the doors. I look at my surroundings and notice the familiar body of water, the mountain and the fresh mountain air. I start to reminisce and, ultimately, space out.

This was the place where I really interacted with Proton for the first time. In Mahogany Town, I was almost mugged by some stupid Rockets for money I didn't have. At Lake of Rage, I met Lance, the awesome Champion of Johto (along with Ash, Misty and Brock, of course. Did you think I'd be able to go around the Pokémon world without running into the infamous trio?). And therein laid the warehouse where I was transported to the Pokemon world and met the Four Executives face-to-face...

The warehouse!

That was where I could go. It all made sense now: I should return to the place where I first got here. Maybe there were some remnants of Pokemon magic that could somehow get me home. That was my only lead and I was going to roll with it.

_I'm going to go home, once and for all._

**Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in more than a month. I have been busy with my Hunger Games fic, as some of you may know, and have not had time to update this one. But now I have. This chapter was surprisingly fun to write. I put a few very funny hidden puns in here, if you can spot them, you're awesome. ^_^ Martha is actually the name of one of the Trainers from Morty's Gym in Ecruteak. Being a Ghost trainer, I thought she'd be appropriate to play the mistress of fortunes. Also, a little note on the phone number. I felt like I was a spy or something. I had to look at an actual phone to make sure I got the numbers right. A touch of espionage to an otherwise spy-less world. :) And, I realized I really like writing previews, so here's one for the next chapter!**

_Hi, this is Myla. After what seemed to be a perfectly-planned day, things start to go haywire. Ashley decides she'd rather try to go home instead of help me save Lance from Team Rocket. What kind of girl is she, anyways? Is this what she does back home? It doesn't matter; I know where she's headed anyways. I consulted that psychic and she told me she's off to the warehouse where she first landed here. But is that really such a good idea? Returning to the scene of the crime isn't always the right thing to do. I have a bad feeling about all this. You'd better help me convince her in the next chapter!_

**I hope this helps! O.M.G. 10****th**** chapter? I'm going to freak when it comes! Never gotten to double digits before! _ Please let me know what you think through review and I hope to see you all back for my first ever double-digit chapter! –Haine-chan**


	10. A Lonely Heart's Solitary Path

Chapter 10

A Lonely Heart's Solitary Path

I stood on a patch of dry sand, lake water lapping at my feet, spray semi-soaking my shirt, sun beating down on me, sheens of sweat forming on my brow. I glanced up at the sky and notice the setting sun. I had a good two hours until dark. I'd already made it past the first two bodies of water that separated me from Mahogany Town. By this time, there was no turning back from here on out. I'd made up my mind and that was all I needed to keep me going. I wanted to get home. I needed to get home. Home was where my heart was. Home was security from the thugs that were tracking me down. Team Rocket wouldn't be able to touch me in my own dimension. I wouldn't have to worry about having to constantly watch my back. I was done with Johto.

Searra swam in front of me, signalling that she was ready to carry me across again. I made sure she got the rest she needed before she dragged me through the water. I sighed and inhaled the salty scent that the liquid emited. I never really got to go to the beach back on Earth. We live in the city. Whenever we did go, I took the opportunity to just sit on the edge of the sand and let the water clean my sandy feet. It felt like I was being purified of all of the crap that I had been dealing with. I would always feel relieved and calm. Hilary would always ruin this when she would force me to watch Barbie movies in the car home.

Now, I started to wade into the water and travel further towards my ultimate destination. It wouldn't be long now, just so long as I didn't get side-tracked. I knew that wasn't going to happen because my determination to get home was stronger than ever.

It didn't take more than an hour to get into Mahogany town limits. By now, it must be supper, meaning about six o' clock. I noticed the sun slowly starting to drop. The sun's a lot more colourful in Johto. Maybe that's because it's a game and not real. I decided to stop by a local shop to grab a bite to eat. I ordered ramen (why would Pokémon want to eat ramen, anyways?) and after I finished, I headed down to Lake of Rage.

As I walked, I began to feel nostalgic. Memories of my time in the Pokémon world flooded into my head, filling me with a multitude of different emotions. I was extremely happy I got to meet so many wonderful characters who seemed to like me and treated me kindly. I was sort of glad to meet Myla. Sure, she wasn't the friendliest person in the world, but that didn't stop her from being protective of me and making sure I didn't get into any more trouble. Same with Lance. He was really supportive and friendly, as well as super strong. I guess being a Champion, he had to be. But he was always so courteous around me.

But then I was brought to the things I didn't necessarily like about my travels in Johto. The fact that Team Rocket had it out for me and were the ones who brought me here didn't make me their bestest friends. I had thought that meeting and talking with them would be the best thing since sliced bread. But it didn't turn out that way; unfortunately, as they had immediately wanted to use my "dimension warping" to their advantage and take their twisted message of world domination across worlds. That wouldn't go so well, knowing the current state of society back on Earth, but that wouldn't stop them from using violence to achieve their goals.

I glanced up and saw the warehouse. At the edge of the water, it seemed like an abandoned fisher's hut. But I knew what sinister secrets that building held, and knew that it was my only ticket home. My feet knew the way and they led me to the entrance. I looked up and noticed faded letters. I squinted, trying to make out what they said. Years of rust and rain had deteriorated the paint, but some of the outlines still stood.

F S H P L N T T I N

_Well that's real helpful,_ I thought as I tried to figure it out. Placing letters where I thought they should be, I put the two words together and said, "Fish plantation." That didn't make any sense to me at all. Maybe they were harvesting Magikarp? I had no idea.

That didn't stop me from proceeding in. Obviously, no one was there. So I took this opportunity to scope out the place I had landed in on my first day in Johto. There wasn't much there, besides the numerous crates that contained who-knew-what. Although when I looked up at the ceiling, there were dark patches that looked like a purple fog had collected there.

I stood in the centre of the building and took a deep breath. I had no clue as to how to get home, but I could try anything. "Should I try 'there's no place like home' and tap my heels? Gah, I don't know…"

All of a sudden, my PokeGear started to go off. I fumbled in my pocket to try and get it out. _I must have forgotten to turn it off before I left. _I had planned on severing any ties I had to this place so the sting of leaving wouldn't be so great. I looked at it and flipped it open.

"Hello?" I said a little worriedly.

"Ashley! Thank Arceus I got a hold of you!"

"Myla?"

"You have to get out of there this instant! It's not safe!"

"Why?" I asked. "I'm trying to go home and this is the only—"

"Team Rocket is there!"

I gasped. "What do you mean?" I found my eyes darting around the place, searching for any remnants of the villainous team from whom I was running from.

"They wanted you to go there; they knew you wanted to leave so they knew the only place you thought would allow you to do that would be the warehouse! Don't you get it? You've stumbled right into their trap!"

"Myla, I—"

Before I could finish my sentence, something darted out of the darkness of the building and snatched the PokeGear out of my hand. I whipped my head around to see a whip coil back into the darkness. Wicked laughter filled the room and a loud snapping noise echoed. _There goes my only shot at communication with the outside,_ I thought grimly. Then a surprise attack from an unknown Pokemon knocked me off my feet. I flew in the air and landed on my stomach. I grimaced in pain as a figure poked its head out of the darkness.

"L-Lambda?" I say as I regain my footing.

The purple-haired man in question laughed maniacally as he leaned his head on his hand. "My my, what do we have here? A little girl who's lost her way? Didn't your parents ever tell you to stay away from strangers?"

"And didn't your parents ever tell you to stay away from little girls?" I sassed.

"Ooh, what a temper. I think you're due for a spanking."

"I never was one for rules, and this is no exception!" I released Yukimenoko and commanded her to use Ice Beam. Unfortunately, he was two steps ahead of me and released a giant Weezing, who in turn was ordered to use Sludge Bomb. I grimaced as Yuki was hit and fell helplessly to the floor. "Come on!" I yelled.

Suddenly, dozens of grunts descended from the banisters and released multiple Koffings. Each one released its own Smokescreen, making it impossible to see. The toxic smoke was collecting in my lungs and making my vision go blurry. I hastily returned Yuki, for fear of her breathing in the fumes as well. I fell to the ground and covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn't stop coughing!

"Now do you see why children should stay out of adult's games?" Lambda taunted. "They don't know how real the stakes are."

And the dream of getting home quickly disappeared.

**Waaaaaaah! I'm back everyone! With the chappie everyone's been waiting for. I'm so so so so so sorry! I have been very busy and this is my first attempt at an update. So enjoy it! And here's a preview. And I will try and have chappie 11 up soon. Wow guys chapter 10! Double Digits! WOOOOO! :D**

_Hey, kiddies, Proton here. Finally, after dozens of failed attempts, we now have Ashley in our hands. __Most of the others are happy solely because our grand plan of total domination will come to fruition. I, on the other hand, am happy for another reason; I finally have her alone. And if she doesn't comply with either of us, we always have a little trick up our sleeves to make her. She may not know it, but her potential is something that we could have never expected. And if her "friendship" gets in the way…well, let's just say I'm not called the scariest and cruellest guy in Team Rocket for nothing. And if I hear you squeal to her about what I've just said, then you'll be in for a world of pain. But you can keep a secret, right?_


	11. Freedom, Confiscated

Chapter 11

Freedom, Confiscated

I woke up what seemed like weeks later. My eyes slowly drifted open as I started to take in my surroundings. I was in a white-wash room, alone; a candle was placed in the corner of the room; my hands were bound behind me and so were my legs. I was lying on a mat that wasn't very comfortable on the cement floor. I groaned as I attempted to sit up on my own. After a few swings of my body, I was sitting up straight. I looked down at my belt and noticed that all of my Pokémon were gone. _Just typical,_ I thought with a sigh. _Now how am I to break out of here?_ I turned my head around a few times and noticed a security camera in the far right corner. _So much for privacy._

As soon as that thought left my head, the door swung open and light flooded in. I had to shut my eyes because it was so blinding. When I could tolerate it, I gazed upon Ariana.

Just the Executive I wanted to see.

"You've awoken, I see," she said blandly. Obviously my capture had been the highlight of her day. The smile I'd grown to fear crept up on her face as she threw a bowl down on the ground. I peered in and saw a sick-looking porridge-thing heaped up in it. "Dinner time."

"How am I supposed to eat this shit if I'm tied up?" I asked, not hiding the annoyance in my voice.

I should've just shut my mouth, because she laughed and said, "If you'd have complied earlier, we may have considered that." Then she slammed the door and left me there.

I shouted in anger as I kicked the grotesque creation away from me. This was totally not what I expected Team Rocket captives to go through. I thought it was just "here, stay in this room with Wi-Fi and a computer for a while." I had never thought I'd be hog-tied in a damp, dark room. I shivered a bit; thinking about how much heat that candle gave off so far away.

After I had a staring contest with the ceiling for an hour, the door opened again and I prayed that it wasn't Ariana and her attitude. It wasn't her.

"Ashley," Proton said voice as soft and smooth as silk.

I grimaced, trying not to kick aimlessly at my chains in an attempt to look strong in front of him. He grinned when he saw my face and said, "Come now, it's not that bad. Your friends are having a lot harder time in their cells."

I gasped. "What have you done with them?"

He laughed heartily and replied, "Now now, don't get your shoelaces in a knot. They're perfectly safe…"

"How can I trust your word?"

"Ashley, I thought that after all we've been through together, you'd have been able to form some sort of trust with me. But obviously, that hasn't had enough time to come to life." He slowly walked up to me and pulled me up by the crook of my arm. I gasped as he shook me a bit. "You know, now that we're all alone, I could do whatever I want."

I glanced up at the security camera. "What about that contraption? Isn't it tracking our every move?"

His eyes met mine and I gulped. "Who said I don't have the power to turn it off?"

I tried hard not to scream at the sudden twist in his personality. I remembered Proton as the fool-hearty, cunning and jealous man who wouldn't stop until he'd stolen my first kiss. But now he had morphed into a devious, sly and cruel man who knew he had me right where he wanted me. And there was nothing I could do to stop him; my hands and legs were bound (which, by the way, made it no easier to stand with); the room was nearly dark; and I had no Pokémon to whip out and attack with.

Myla was right; I should've never come to the warehouse.

Then, Proton backed off and headed towards the door. "You know, if I we were able to fully grasp what we think of one another, we could rule Team Rocket on our own. You, smart, charming and headstrong; and I, persuasive, powerful and cunning." I couldn't get my mouth open fast enough to say anything before he shut the door.

xxXXxx

I wasn't in the cell for long. Sooner then I'd hoped, actually, the door which had become my gateway to freedom (or light), opened and a grunt said that I was to be brought to the meeting room. He unchained me and the exhilarating freedom of being able to be mobile on my own was like a chocolate high. It didn't last long though; he quickly bound my arms and made sure I was never out of his sight.

Walking down the halls, I noticed all of the grunts staring at me. A lot of them smiled or snickered once my back was turned. A few even had the never to yell at me, saying things like "you're ours, alien girl!" or "soon, you'll be serving the glory that is Team Rocket!" I glared at many of them, but after a while, I gave up and kept my eyes on the ground.

We reached the meeting room and the grunt shoved me in, only saying, "Behave yourself." I shifted a little, not being used to having to walk with my arms behind my back. I saw Lambda leaning against the wall, Ariana with her arms folded in front of her beside Archer (who was leaning back in a very comfortable leather seat at the end of the table) and Proton who had his feet up on the desk, hands behind his head.

Man did I feel weird.

"Ashley, how good to see you again," Archer said, as if we were friends who hadn't seen each other for months.

"Oh, the pleasure of running into you four is all mine." I didn't try to hide the obvious sarcasm in my voice.

"See?" Lambda said. "Didn't I tell you we had a little brat on our hands? I'll gladly dole out the discipline if we—"

"That will not be needed, Lambda." Archer said.

"Why don't we cut to the chase here, so as to make your freedom that much shorter?" Ariana suggested. Boy, she was a witch.

"Like I have anything better to do then starve in a cell alone." I said.

Archer cleared his throat and pressed a button on the desk that made a projector and screen appear. Another click and a map of Johto appeared.

"You see, we are here," A red dot pointed to what looked like Goldenrod. "And this"—the screen changed to show a map of Earth—"is where we want to be. We know you're not from this region, nor any in the Pokémon world. We knew that from day one. That is why we summoned you after all. You know where this is, right?"

I walked a few steps forward and noticed his red dot had landed on Kingston, my hometown. "Yeah…"

"That will be our base of operations. From there, we will infiltrate major landmarks here, here and here." He added more dots on Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. "Once we've settled in there, we'll make our presence known globally, so we'll send squadrons here, here and here." New York, Paris and Moscow turned red as the red that was on my face drained away. "By this point, we will have most of the world's superpowers under our reign. That only leaves here and here." China and Japan were instantly added. "Then the others will fall before us."

"What makes you think this is all gonna happen? What tools do you have to be able to cross dimensions like that so easily?"

A dark smile grew on Archer's face. I swallowed.

"Why, my dear, we have you."

xxXXxx

I backed away from the madman before I started screaming, "This is madness! I'll never be a part of your twisted plot! You'll never have my home or the world! And I'll make sure you get beaten at your own game in your own home turf!"

Archer started to laugh. "And what makes you think we don't have alternatives, if you don't comply willingly?"

I stopped backing away. "What kind of…alternatives?"

Proton walked closer to me and placed his arms on my shoulder. He leaned into my ear to say, "There's always torture, torture of your friends, hypnosis, death threats…but I know which one's you really don't want. You wouldn't want those little friends of your to get hurt, right?"

I shook my head a few times, trying not to envision what they could possibly do to my friends. "That's a good girl," he said as he left me.

"So what'll it be, Ashley?" Archer asked, hands laced together. "Comply willingly or resist what is to come?"

I needed to make a smart decision here. If I decided to do what they wanted me to, then I'd be saving Myla, Lance and whoever else they may have captured. But then I'd be putting the whole world I loved in danger, and that would cost me. But if I said no, they'd find some way to pull at my heartstrings and make my compliance that much sweeter. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Oh, if only I was home right now…but the thought of going home was what brought me to this dilemma in the first place, right? Home was what I thought I wanted, what I thought I needed. But this whole time my heart was somewhere else. It was thinking of Myla, and where she was and how she actually cared about my wellbeing. It was with Lance, for who had travelled with me and tried to watch out for me who was now captured because of me. It was with Morty and Eusine, who had willingly put their Pokémon in danger because they wanted to save me. And then I found it in the most controversial of all places; it was with Proton, for whom I had fallen for. He obviously could see that I liked him, but with all of the drama that had been occurring, I hadn't had time to really see what my heart was telling me. I loved him. I'd said it before. And now I truly realized it.

But what was I going to do?

"If you can't make up your mind, let me help you." Archer then proceeded to exit his chair and take me out of the room. Down a couple of flights of stairs, and we landed in what seemed like a medieval dungeon. He led me to one cell in particular. "You have twelve hours. If you do not decide by then, alternate arrangements will be made." He then leaned into my ear and whispered, "And don't think I won't be glad to see you stop resisting me." Then he left me, unbound, down in that cold dungeon.

"Ashley? Ashley is that really you?" a voice called out to me. I peered into the cell and saw a flash of red hair.

I immediately sank to the floor, free hands now gripping the cold iron bars of his cell. He crawled closer to me, hands reaching and touching mine. I couldn't help the tears that fell from my eyes this time. He was here. He was alive.

"Lance!"

**I am on a roll now that I've started back! :D Two updates on the same story only days apart? I've gone mad with writing! Also, I thought I should let you know I based Lambda around the character of Stoica from Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders. His voice sorta suits him, in my mind. =) I hope to get this story finished by the end of the month, if all goes well. What do you guy think? Oh and here's your preview:**

_Hey guys, Lance here. When I first laid eyes on Ashley, I knew we had a chance. A chance at winning against Team Rocket. __She hasn't lost that familiar spark in her eyes. And for that I'm grateful. But I don't have much time to explain the plan that Morty, Eusine, Myla and I have concocted. She only has twelve hours to give Archer her answer. I can try to persuade her to say no, but what have they done to her since she's been kidnapped? What kind of mind tricks has that Proton played on her? I don't trust him, but we'll just have to see what she chooses, if she can choose at all._**  
**


	12. Driving Miss Ashley

Chapter 12

Driving Miss Ashley

"Thank God you're all right!" I cried as I grasped Lance's hands in mine. The joy that I felt while seeing him was so overwhelming I could hardly breathe. His hands squeezed mine affectionately.

"Ashley, I'm so happy to see you!" he said to me.

"What have they done to you?" It was then I noticed the chains that bound his legs to the floor. He looked like he hadn't eaten anything healthy for a while. His eyes had bags under them and his hands shook a bit. They must have made sure the Champion was deprived of all of the luxuries he had grown accustomed to. My heart went out for him. _Now my cell looks like a four star hotel. If this is what they're already doing to my friends, then what other horrible tortures will they think up?_

"I'm fine, really," he said. Always the modest one.

"Thanks for the concern." Another voice said irritation thick in its voice. I stood up and wandered over to the cell diagonal from Lance. In the darkness stood a thin figure with its arms draped over its legs in a slack position. The figure popped its head out of the darkness to reveal a girl.

"Myla!" I cried out bending to my knees in front of her cell. She crawled a little closer so that I could see most of her body. She too looked malnourished and her hair had begun to thin out.

"Took you long enough," Her usual Myla-attitude certainly hadn't lost its vigor while she was imprisoned. I even wanted to hug her, I was so happy to see her.

"I'm sorry, they cut off my signal and—"

"You moron!" she yelled. "Didn't you hear me when I said get out of there? We knew it was a trap and you still went on. I consulted that witch back there in Ecru—"

"You mean Madame Martha?"

"Whatever. And she said that she predicted you were on a path full of betrayal, lies and deception was true! And that future decision of yours? It winded you up here, of all places. You should've listened to the old hag. She isn't that crazy after all."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "I've made that decision—and I admit it was a bad one—and I've been lied to a lot. But where is the betrayal and deception? And where are we exactly?"

Lance perked up and said, "We think we're in the Goldenrod Radio Tower. And as for the deception, I can't say yet. Maybe Team Rocket has told you some things that make you question your decisions. But I know for sure we've been betrayed…"

"By who?" I asked, frantic to know who could've had the nerve to.

"Don't look at me," Myla said, suddenly on the defensive.

"It was Eusine." Lance answered. "He…is good friends with Morty, and I know Morty wouldn't betray us like this, but Eusine…he's a bit unstable in my opinion. Apparently, he didn't take a liking to you and when he saw the wanted poster, he told them that you were heading to the warehouse and also informed them of Myla's whereabouts. I, on the other hand, was caught by surprise by that purple-haired cross dresser. He posed as you, and I was so desperate to find you that I blew my cover, even though he acted nothing like you."

"Figures," I laughed. "No one can get this girl's swagger right."

"What swagger?" Myla sassed.

"Anyways," Lance continued, "he sold us out to Team Rocket for a hefty sum and a tip as to where Suicune is. And now we're here, trying to figure out what to do next. By the way, did they tell you anything about what they're planning?"

I gulped. I knew this whole confrontation scene was coming from the minute I stepped foot in that meeting room. They needed to know and lying would make me just as low as TR themselves. So I took in a deep breath and explained how they were going to be able to get to my home through me somehow and then take over the world's superpowers. I even saw Myla gasp a few times. Lance looked calm and collected; a true Champion.

"So there," I said when I finished. "That's what they told me and now I'm here, with twelve hours left until my deadline. I don't know what to do!" I slammed my fist into the wall.

"Ashley," Lance said, reaching his hand out of the bars. "I know this must be extremely hard for you. But understand that you're not alone. We're trying to make a plan too."

I perked up. "Really? But you're trapped here without your Pokémon and…"

"It doesn't matter. Before I left, I told the Elite Four that if I were to go missing to continue on as normal until I gave a signal. A signal I gave to my Dragonite. I let him go after I was captured. I told him to wait until I gave the signal, then he would use Draco Meteor to make a sort of flare in the sky. Then the Elite Four would know to find us where the flare went off. Then they'd bring reinforcements that would ultimately save us."

"But how are you supposed to give a signal to your Dragonite if you're locked up here in this cell?"

He sighed. "I haven't been completely honest with you two since I met you. You know I'm a Dragon Tamer, right? Well, I have this sort of…I guess you could call it a psychic bond with all dragon Pokémon. Dragonite included. Our bond is so strong that I can talk to him even miles away. So when I said I could give a signal to him, I meant that I would be able to mentally tell him to use Draco Meteor. I released him intentionally because of that, and the Elite Four are the only other people to know about this gift. Well…them and a few other people now."

I blinked in surprise at the hearing of this news. That was so great! That meant that he could control one of the most powerful types of Pokémon in the whole region. It was truly a gift…a gift that could come back to haunt him, if Team Rocket ever found out about it. Controlling an army of mighty dragons under one man would be a feat in itself. And what they would do for such a power…. I started to envision them torturing the dragon Pokémon in an attempt to get Lance to command them. I shook that horrible vision out of my head.

"So what you're saying is that when you think the time is right, you'll send a message to Dragonite, and then he'll send a flare into the sky and alert the elite Four to save us?"

"Basically,"

"And what are we to do? Sit around here waiting and sipping our Darjeeling till they get here?" Myla said.

Lance looked over at her and replied, "We pretend like we know nothing. Ashley can either say yes or no, it doesn't really matter. Then Team Rocket will decide whether or not they can continue with their plans. But I need to give them a little bit of time to get here. I can't send the signal right before they hatch their grand scheme. Then it would be too late. The most perfect timing would be shortly after Ashley makes her decision. Team Rocket will be planning their next move at that time. If she says yes, they'll be prepping her for going home. If she says no, then…I suppose they'll be thinking of ways to torture us. But I need to know what you're doing beforehand so I know when to send out the message."

I nodded my head. It all made sense. I needed to make up my mind whether or not I was going to say yes or no. Either one would get the job done. But there was something pulling at my heartstrings…something telling me to go against their plan and do what I wanted. But I hadn't even thought of what the consequences of going to the warehouse were, so obviously I wasn't in a good position to be leading the cavalry. I needed to make sure my decision would buy the most time for Lance and make my mind not quiver with fear.

"Alright," I said. "I'll make my decision right here, right now. Just know that, whatever I decide, I'm doing it because I think it's the best, not only for you, but for me."

"Get on with it already," Myla snapped.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to say…"

xxXXxx

I sat in front of the executives, hands folded in front of me, eyes darting across the room anxiously. Ariana wouldn't take her eyes off of me; Petrel was laughing to himself; Proton gave me a devious look; and Archer had his head resting in his hands. I gulped. I sure was nervous to say one word to four people. Most people were terrified of speaking in front of thousands and saying a long speech. They would probably kill to be in my shoes. Well, it would've been fine if I was telling someone about my preference on foods then informing four cynical leaders of a crime syndicate whether or not I would comply with their twisted wishes of world domination.

"Your twelve hours are up, Miss Conrad." Archer said, ever-professional. It seemed like I was about to die because the bomb that was placed somewhere near me was set to explode after twelve short hours. "Do you have an answer for us? Will you willingly comply with our plans to dominate your world and this one? Or are you going to resist our force and let your friends suffer for your resistance?"

"If I were you, I'd say yes. That way, you'll save your pesky little friends the suffering unto which we are able to dole out." Ariana said, matter-of-factly.

"Or you could say no and let me feed them to the lions! Ah ha ha ha!" Petrel laughed.

"There is no 'maybe' here, Ashley," Proton said, looking me in the eye. "It's either you're with m—us or you're not."

I swallowed again and looked directly at Archer. This was it. The moment my friends and the world were waiting on. Should I say yes and allow them to use me like a toy? Or would I run the risk and say no, but see what kind of horrific tortures they would place upon them? Now was the time to either step up or get down.

"Tell us your answer now," Archer urged.

I stared him straight in the eye and breathed out slowly. The confidence I felt I knew was false, but it was that little bit of courage I felt that made me stand up suddenly (taking everyone else aback), slam my hands on the desk and say;

"Yes."

**Chapter 12~ Wee! Only a few more til the end! I assume about til Chapter 15 or 16. I'm also planning on adding a "Deleted Scenes" chapter, explaining the concepts and plot points I originally wanted to put in, but decided to scrap at the last minute. Maybe even some bloopers? XD I hope you all look forward to it as much as I do! Oh, and this is next chapter's preview!**

_This is Archer speaking. After much deliberation, Ashley has decided to comply with our wishes for conquering her world. We do not know what her world holds, but the possibility of ruling their vast planet indefinitely out rules the possibility of failure. That is not an option. Team Rocket must soar to new heights. And if Ashley starts to doubt her role, do not think for a minute that I will not take measures to show her who is in control. The ends justify the means, and I will stop at nothing to fulfill my goals. Regardless…_


	13. Much Ado About Clothing

Chapter 13

Much Ado About Clothing

A wide, devious and evil grin then rose on Archer's face. I supposed he hadn't expected me to say yes, rather to say no and beg for mercy so that they wouldn't touch Myla or Lance or anyone else for that matter. Ariana was plain shocked; she too thought that she would have to tell me what to do and would have to chastise me for not listening. Then she'd ramble on about how much of a brat I was and somewhere along the line she would probably revert to physical violence, punching or slapping me just to see how I'd react. Petrel let his jaw drop (and if this had been the anime, it would've fallen flat to the floor), and his words come out as stutters. It looked like he'd been scared out of his wits. I almost laughed at that, but remembered I had to remain calm and almost placid so that they wouldn't see through my fake confidence. Proton, he shocked _me_ the most. All he did was stare. No words, no facial expression no nothing. Just a stare. One that felt like it was gluing me to my seat. I stood my ground, although I was finding that extremely hard at this particular moment in time.

"Excellent," Archer said, breaking the sort of 'awkward' silence that had accumulated from my one word. He stood up and proceeded towards me. "Now we can begin." He took my hand and started to lead me out of the room.

A cough stopped him as we turned and saw Proton. "Aren't you going to brief her first? Or are you so anxious to get the ball rolling?"

Archer made a noise that sounded like a growl and said, "Of course. I just forgot. I just remembered I have other things to attend to in order to prepare for our glorious prosper. You should take her to her new room and get her ready. If you'll excuse me." And then he left. Poof, just like that. Un-Archer-like? A lot. This didn't seem right, but I didn't say anything.

Proton proceeded in taking me down the hallway, hands on my shoulders, face in my hair. What did he like the scent of my hair or something? I hadn't showered since I had left with Myla for Ecruteak. I must smell terrible! I looked up at him.

"Am I gonna be able to clean myself up a bit before I before I become a symbol of Team Rocket? Because I wanna at least smell good, let alone be clean."

He laughed a bit and whispered, "When he said 'prep', what did you think? We've been keeping a distance because of your scent. But I don't care. Just so long as I can get close to you." I held back a gasp as he directed me to the washroom. "There's a shower on the left. Be quick; Archer likes things to be prompt."

He turned around and fished into a basket that contained towels and washcloths. He tossed me one and said, "If you'd like, I could chaperone you."

"Perv." I hurried into the room and quickly slammed the door.

The shower really helped me to relax. And feel clean for once. Being alone in a safe environment allowed for some actual thinking. Not irrational thoughts interrupted by people constantly yapping at you. After a good half an hour of soaking and scrubbing, I finally decided I would get out. Not that I was looking forward to being a tool of Team Rocket at all.

I wiped the steam from the mirror and gazed at myself. I looked like myself, only there was something different about me, something I couldn't see just by looking at me. It was then I noticed how my eyes looked. They seemed deeper, wiser than they were before I landed in the Pokémon world. It surprised me so much; I had to keep rubbing them to attempt to wipe this new found wisdom away. I sighed and dried my hair, allowing it to fall in loose curls around my face. I looked at the pile of clothes that sat in a heap near the shower and scoffed. If I smelled this good by showering without them, there was no way I was going to put them back on again. But how was I going to get clean clothes if those were the only ones here?

Wrapping a towel around my body and one in my hair, I slowly opened the door, seeing no one around. I quickly spotted a door with the words "laundry" on it and smirked. _This is perfect! Now all I have to do is run in, grab someone's clean clothes and come back! But wouldn't the Executives notice if I wasn't wearing my old clothes? Bah, why do I care? They're coercing me into becoming a tool for destruction anyways, might as well have some fun in someone else's threads!_

Scanning the hallway one more time, I bolted, opening the laundry door and quietly closing it. There was no one there, thankfully, and I began to look through the drying machines for any warm and clean clothes. Most of the machines were empty of course, but one was tumbling all by its lonesome in the far corner. I smiled and walked over to it, opening the door and unleashing a warm blast of air that tickled my freshly washed skin. I inhaled the smell of something very sweet and floral, probably the person's fabric softener. I reached in and found a black Team Rocket shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. They looked much bigger than I was, but at this point I was desperate. Snatching them away from their warm haven, I took off the towel wrapped around my head, preparing myself to quickly change here and run back.

Before I could take off the other towel, the door to the room opened and I froze. Standing in the doorway was Proton, laundry hamper in hand, mouth open. Mine was hanging limp and my hands quickly reached for the towel. His shocked expression soon left him, however and was replaced by his signature grin.

"Well, well," he said, setting the hamper down and closing the door. "What do you think you're up to?"

"Stay away from me you perv!" I yelled, clutching the clothes and attempting to shrink away.

"Pervert?" he said, pretending to be hurt. "I think you're the one who brought yourself upon this situation. Running from the bathroom to steal my clothes? Is this some kind of pay back for earlier?"

It was then that I realized he was dressed only in shorts.

I swallowed and blinked, trying to form words. "Well you should've given me a change of clothes. Did you want to leave a young girl exposed like this in front of creepy Rockets?"

He began walking towards me and said, "Of course not. That's why I was sent to give you this." He grabbed a wad of cloth from his hamper and let it fall from his hand to the floor. A beautiful red gown came flowing down. "If you'd stayed where you were supposed to, it would've been much easier."

By this time, he'd reached me and was handing me the dress in exchange for his clothing. I looked down and sighed. "But these clothes seemed so comfy."

"Maybe someday I'll let you wear them." He winked and snatched them from me, tossing the dress into my hands and walking away. Before he left, he said, "You know, the towel thing really works for you."

xxXXxx

After my ordeal in the laundry room, I rushed back to the bathroom and changed. The gown was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't tell where they'd gotten it from, seeing as there had been no real fashion outlets in Johto, but it seemed very expensive and tailor made. It fell just below my knees. I smiled, thinking back to my public school graduation, where I'd worn a red dress quite similar to this one, only it had gone to the floor and had glitter all over the bodice.

"Well Ashley," I said to myself as I looked in the mirror. "This is it. Show 'em what you've got."

****As I left the bathroom, I was greeted by Petrel, with his creepy gaze and nonchalant grin. He said nothing to me as he guided me to a different room, this time all windows that overlooked the water. All of the executives were there, now clad all in black, with blazing red "R" logos on their chests. Archer extended his hand, beckoning me to his side. I swallowed, not wanting to touch his slimy hand more than I had to. But I did and he gripped my hand tightly. Walking me to the windows behind his seat, he waved his free hand over the ground and up came a desk filled with buttons and gadgets. A screen shot up and he typed in a few words, revealing what seemed to be a recording machine. He smiled and turned to me.

"This is it, Ashley. The moment that not only I, but everyone in Team Rocket has waited for. Giovanni will be found and our glory will be fulfilled! Our reign will never end and all people and Pokémon will bow down to us!"

As he lowered his finger to the record button, a grunt ran in, out of breath.

"The prisoners have escaped!"

**Wow I'm back guys! After a very VERY long hiatus, this story is finally come back to life! And I'm very happy for it! As all of you know this story is going to end soon, but don't worry! More good news is on the way. Which I will let you know about in the next chappie! Sorry this one was a little short, I'm starting to get back into my groove. And now, the preview!**

_Greetings, this is Will here. After Lance's Dragonite released Draco Meteor, we Elite Four sprang into action. We took our finest Pokémon and raced to the flare site. Little did we know we were in for more than just a brawl with some grunts. It turns out that Archer was more prepared for our onslaught then we had anticipated. Within seconds, we were ambushed! I can only hope Lance and the others get out alright. But what was it I sensed when I looked into the Radio Tower's observation deck? Fear? Betrayal? I can't put my finger on it, but I can only hope that Ashley is alright!_


	14. Help I'm Alive

Chapter 14

Help I'm Alive

**Just a quick playlist for those interested. There's really only one song I think works this time around.**

**Help I'm Alive - Metric (at the tail end of the chapter...not gonna spoil it)**

_The prisoners? _I thought to myself. _Does he mean Lance and the others? Maybe his plan worked after all!_

I couldn't help the quaint little smile that played on my lips as I saw all four executives' faces turn from shock to confusion to rage.

"Ariana! Assemble the grunts in an all-out frontal attack!" Archer shouted. The woman in question nodded and quickly left the room, followed by Petrel, who sort of chuckled to himself and Proton, who darted past both of them. Archer then began furiously pressing buttons as he called on numerous grunts to begin their assault. I just sort of stood there waiting to be told what to do. But then I thought why am I standing here when this chaos could allow me to escape? As Archer was distracted by his maniacal rage, I slowly crept backwards and searched for a way out. At this point all of the other Executives were attempting to stop my friends from saving me and not even paying attention to the girl they were trying to save! _What luck!_ I thought happily as I noticed that the door had been left ajar. Seems chaos can cause people to be a bit forgetful.

I dashed to the door, but really I shouldn't have, because Archer whipped around to notice me attempting to run away.

"Oh no you don't!" he yelled at me as I yelped in fear. I gripped the door and was going to slam it in his ugly face, but he had grabbed my arm before I could even make it a few steps out of the doorway. Darn this pretty dress! I gasped as he whipped me around and stared at me. "Trying to run away like always, Ashley?" he sneered. He then proceeded to drag me back to the computer. I knew he was going to attempt to press that button again, but instead he stopped in front of it. In the reflection of the glass I could see his sneer widen. "You've practiced your lines well enough, haven't you?"

"I didn't get a script," I retorted with a glare.

"Then we'll just have to improvise." It was then that he pressed that red button. A camera appeared on screen and reflected both of us. I could see a tiny red symbol indicating it was recording us. In the bottom corner, I could see a list of cities all around the world that were flashing in response. Was it because I was standing near it that the whole world could hear and see us? Or was that some sort of weird coincidence?

Archer began speaking with a creepy zeal pulsating in his voice, "People of the world! I am Archer, interim head of the syndicate known as Team Rocket! For years, we have been searching for our lost leader, Giovanni. He is out there somewhere, and if we are to find him, we must make our presence known not only in the region of Johto, but the world this girl belongs to as well!"

He pushed me forward so that I was center stage.

"If you wish to surrender to us peacefully—and spare the life of this poor, innocent girl—give us earth and water belonging to the capital cities of every nation. Then, we will begin our rule over the entire world!"

_Who does he think he is, Cyrus the Great?_ I thought.

He continued rambling into the camera and made eye contact with me throughout it, but what I was more focused on was getting out of here and stopping this transmission! If it really was reaching the corners of both our worlds, then I had no idea what the UN would do. And I certainly didn't wanna be the star of a drama that involved me being the main conflict! It was during this sort of mind-melding that I realized that I could have a say in what went on. This entire time I'd been weak and defenseless (no thanks to all the times I'd fainted) and not once had I really looked inside of myself for the strength I needed. I was the key to either peace or chaos. I had made it into this world on my own right? I could certainly destroy one madman's quest for domination, too. And I certainly couldn't let down the new friends I'd made who were probably now fighting for their lives against the thousands of lackeys Team Rocket had to throw at them. I couldn't let them down, not when they'd experienced such grueling punishment at their hands. I closed my eyes remembered all the fond memories I'd created with every single person I'd met here. Yes, even Silver. I opened my eyes and stared at the man who thought he was in control and grinned.

If Archer needed me to fulfill a grand plan that involved enslaving the entire planet, I was not going along smoothly.

"Not on my watch!" I shouted loudly as I slammed my foot on Archer's boot and used my free arm to press a flurry of random buttons. I had no clue whether or not it would work, but it was worth a try. As Archer yelped in pain and grabbed at his now tender foot, I noticed that the screen had turned fuzzy and that no reception was being picked up. Doing a little fist pump in the air, I stuck my tongue out at Archer (who said a very nasty curse to me) and ran out of the room.

Alarms were screeching loudly all throughout the building and more than once I had to cover my ears, they were so deafening. This building was foreign, but I could remember some of the hallways I'd been through and hoped I'd see a glowing exit sign. After a few minutes of wandering, I heard a cacophony of footsteps running towards where I was. I shrieked in horror and quickly ducked into a hallway and pressed myself against the wall. At least twenty grunts went whizzing past, all of them shouting, "To the main gate!"

I smiled and considered my luck as I quickly followed behind them. They eventually led me to a pair of sliding doors that exited out onto a road. _I must have been in the Goldenrod Radio Tower this whole time! That's the only building in Johto that would've allowed them to make a widespread message._ Quickly scanning the area, I saw a large group of people to my left where the Global Link building was.

"That must be where Lance and the others are!" I said happily as I ran to catch up with them. Just as I was about to reach them, a gigantic Xatu blocked my path and cawed at me menacingly.

"Uh…nice birdie…" I said apprehensively as I stuck my hands in the air.

"Who are you?" said a voice from somewhere above me. I turned to notice a young man with purple hair and a mask dropping down to meet the giant bird. Even without being able to meet his eyes, I could tell this guy was fuming.

"I'm human!" I said. "I-I mean, I'm Ashley! I come in peace! Or at least that's what I initially came for."

The man's expression softened as he calmed the Pokémon down. "So you're her? I envisioned you all in black…"

"Yeah, I had a quick wardrobe change in the middle of Act III,"

"This battle is a gruesome one…we've already had casualties on both sides." I could see him grimace as he continued, "But my vision did come true in part, because you are here."

"Wait, you had a vision?" I asked.

"Yes, allow me to explain while I escort you to the Champion." He motioned for me to come closer and once I did, we both climbed on top of his Xatu and soared high above the chaos. "About a week ago, I was haunted by a vision in my sleep. I couldn't shake it off, like I can with most apparitions. I told my fellow Elite Four about it and Lance mentioned he'd run into a girl who resembled the one in my vision. At this point you were battling with Proton outside of Mt. Mortar and Lance had returned to the Indigo Plateau to get his strongest Pokémon. It was then he told me that if we were to notice a Draco Meteor in the sky, that we were to get there as fast as we could."

"So what exactly happened in your vision?" I asked politely.

"Well, it began in complete darkness. Then I turned to see you holding what seemed to be a globe in your hands. Only it was floating, like an orb. It glowed more brightly than ever light I've seen and your face was filled with its radiance. But from behind you I saw a dark figure looming over you, hands seemingly hovering over top of the world you possessed. Suddenly, your eyes flew open and I heard you scream my name at the top of your lungs. It was then I woke up, drenched in sweat and fighting to inhale."

"Wow…" I said, surprised at his recollection. "How did you interpret it?"

"Now that Lance has filled me in on your past and we're currently engaged in battle, I have a better understanding of it. What I think it was telling me was that you are a sort of gateway to a world—your world, rather. The radiance is probably the hope you hold in your heart. That looming figure is Archer, as he's trying to take that light and warp it into something darker and more corrupted. He would steal your light and take the world for his own. Your scream is most likely the fear you have about losing your home."

"That makes a lot of sense," I replied.

"The only thing I couldn't make sense of is how you could know my name,"

I grinned. "There are a lot of things that you wouldn't be able to make sense of concerning me."

"Here we are,"

We both glanced down to notice a swarm of black clothed Rockets attacking a small group of very colourful people. Obviously, the good guys had a better sense of style. It was the tiny figure with red hair that caught both of us.

"Lance!" I cried out happily. He looked up and smiled as he released his Dragonite from its pokeball. In a flash, he was flying up and up towards us and in no time, he was hovering to my right.

"Ashley, it's good to see you!" He said, relief thick in his voice.

"It's good to see your making out alright too." I smiled.

"Thanks Will."

The man nodded and said, "Anything for the Champion."

"Here, why don't you hop on Dragonite? We could use your battling prowess to help knock out these pesky Rockets."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I would, if I knew where my Pokémon were. Those Executives took them from me when I was detained."

"Not to worry," said Will, as he levitated my five Pokémon towards me.

"Whoa, how can you do that?" I said in awe.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," he answered with a smile.

I looked down at the pokeballs and considered where I was going to put them. Realizing this dress didn't have pockets; I shrugged and said, "Eh, what the heck," and released them all, tossing them into the air elegantly. All six cried out in excitement as they looked to me for direction. "Kay guys, knock 'em dead." With that, they all jumped off of Will's Xatu and clung to each other as they searched for a place to land.

"Now to get my butt down there," I extended my arm and Lance did the same, getting ready to hoist me over and onto his Pokémon's back. Just as our hands were about to touch, a bright light shot up from the sky and knocked us back. I had no grip on Will or his Xatu in the slightest and in an instant I was falling.

"Aaaaah!" I screamed in terror as I went down, down, down in the air at a thousand miles a second.

"Ashley!" I heard both of them yell.

As I kept falling, I saw something dart past me. Hoping it was one of my Pokémon, I turned my head to check. Unfortunately it was the farthest thing from one of my own. A giant Golbat suddenly clutched my shoulders with its claws and my daring descent was ceased. I was only a few feet away from the ground at this point and the creepy bat Pokémon flew me towards two figures below me. As the golbat lowered me down, I was suddenly pinned down to the ground by a heavy mass. I gasped at the sheer force it was exuding and I looked up to see a menacing Houndoom snarling at me wickedly. Its claw comes down on my back and I'm forced to keep my head at a relatively low angle. But I could see the two men clearly now and they were both staring at me, one maliciously and one with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Proton…Archer…" I whispered.

Proton smiled at me deviously and knelt down in front of me. He took my chin in his hand and licked his lips. "Miss me, babe?"

**A/N Ok so seven months pass before another update but at least it wasn't a year! This is the second last chapter of this fic, but I'll add a quick epilogue to the end of the last one though. Don't worry y'all! Because I have exciting news! That's right…**

**I'm planning on making a sequel, entitled "Caught in Reality With Me", which will pick up where the epilogue leaves us. I'm really excited for writing it, as I have a lot of fun ideas. I hope you all will join me again for the last chapter and I do hope you're enjoying the story! Oh and here's the last little blurb. (Also, I've started a new fic, entitled "Venom" with Proton in it, if you just can't get enough of the sexy exec ;))**

_Hey there, Ashley here. Just when I'd thought I was going to get the chance to really show Team Rocket how powerful I am, I'm suddenly back where I started. Archer's plans are still in motion and he is absolutely determined to take over my home. Lance and Will are still locked in the heat of the battle and I feel absolutely alone. If only there was some way I could get help. But who's left? Maybe I can get him to switch sides… if he's working with me, he might just stop Archer once and for all…just maybe…he is known as the scariest and cruelest guy for a reason. And I want to be that reason._


	15. Not Gonna Stop Me Now

Chapter 15

Not Gonna Stop Me Now

My eyes widened at his remark. I had no clue that Proton would be this…flirtatious, especially with Archer standing right next to him. And I was in no position to reciprocate, being crushed by a giant hound that could very well rip my head off. I could tell that he was enjoying himself. I mean, if I were him, I'd probably be feeling the same way, too. He'd somehow blasted me away from the Champion (who he didn't have a keen interest in to begin with), caught me with his Pokémon, and now had me within his reach. I had no clue exactly what he was thinking, but if I were to take a wild guess, it would have to be pleasure.

"Not nearly as much as Archer does, I'm sure," I replied, glaring at the man in question.

Proton noticed my strained expression and grinned even further. He leaned into my ear and I bit my lip to stop myself from gasping. His warm breath came tumbling into my ear as he whispered, "If you're not cooperative, I might have to play rough with you."

I grunted in anger at his response and, seemingly pleased with my reaction, he let go of my chin and resumed his standing position beside Archer.

"You should've learned by now that running away never gets you anywhere, Ashley." Archer said. He walked closer to me and petted his Pokémon on the head. "After all, that is what you've been doing since you landed here. Tell me, how far has it gotten you?"

"I'm glad to say I'm far more active now, thanks to you." I said with an icy smile.

"Humour aside, we can now fully accomplish our goals. Especially now that those pesky Trainers are distracted."

I turned my head as far as the houndoom would let me and I noticed that Lance and Will were now locked into battle with various grunts. They were both giving it their all, along with all of the extra Trainers that came along, but there was no way they were going to get to me anytime soon. If I'd thought there were a lot of grunts from our previous encounter in Olivine, I was dead wrong! There had to be hundreds just assaulting my allies with their Pokémon. I wondered where my Pokémon were in all the confusion and noticed them at the edge of the battle, giving it their all. I was so proud of them! Even with their power, the Rockets seemed to be creating some sort of barrier between them and myself. _Of course they are, you idiot! They don't want them saving you like they have before!_ I turned back to stare at Archer.

"I wouldn't worry about Lancey over there, doll-face," Proton said. "Seems he's too engrossed in his own battle."

"Maybe there'll be a brief intermission," I scoffed.

"This play has progressed to the final act. And now the grand finale is about to be presented!" said Archer. I could feel the pressure of his houndoom lift and I thought maybe I could get away from him. But of course, having escaped from his gross clutches too many times, he had certainly expected a move like that, so he grabbed my arm and hoisted me up from my half-standing half-crouching position. His eyes then found mine and it was then that I saw how crazed his expression was. He was absolutely obsessed with taking over not only his world but mine and he would do absolutely anything to accomplish that goal. _Oh man, he has _so_ jumped off the deep end and into the ocean of insanity._

"Make sure she's compliant," he said sternly as he flung me towards Proton. He quickly pinned my arms behind my back and I felt his hot breath on my neck.

"Oh, I could do more than that…" he whispered in my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine.

"Don't even think about it," I sneered.

"Now," Archer said. I turned to notice that he had pulled out a small device that reminded me of a TV remote control. _That's odd, why would he have one of those here?_ He pressed a button on it and it caused a laser to shoot out of it. It stopped a few meters in front of us and began to create what seemed to be a black hole out of thin air! Everyone who was engrossed in the battle around us paused to witness the portal emerge from seemingly nowhere and grow to about the size of a car. It was a deep purple colour, with black and green tones swirling around within it. I felt the wind switch directions and begin to funnel towards it.

"What is that?!" I asked in fear.

"That, my dear, is the way we will travel to your world."

"So we're gonna fly through a random portal in the hopes of landing on my home?" I said skeptically.

"The beam will create an identical portal in your dimension, in which we will take over your world and this one!"

"Um, I don't want to be a Debby Downer here, but how exactly are you gonna take over Johto if you're not there?"

"That is where you come in. My message was sent from the observation deck, albeit despite your interference. Because you are our hostage now, we will keep you in this world until your world surrenders fully!"

"Wait-whoa-whoa-whoa, WHAT?" I said. I began struggling against Proton's grip, but it was no use, as usual. "I thought you needed me to go with you in order to control the world?"

Archer smiled wickedly. "That might have happened…if you had been more compliant. But because of your constant resistance towards us, I believe that you would serve us better as a bargaining chip!"

I gasped in terror as the man began laughing.

"Don't worry, Ashley," Proton said, his voice silky and smooth. "I'll make sure you're taken care of."

"My world will never surrender to a tyrannical madman like you! And besides, the UN doesn't negotiate with terrorists, so ha!"

Team Rocket's interim head grinned. "Oh, I think they will when they watch an innocent girl die at the hands of Team Rocket!"

"No!" I yelled. What was going on? First I was a GPS to Earth, then I was a poker chip and now I was going to be a corpse for an evil revolution!?

"Proton!" a voice yelled. We all looked in the direction of the fight and saw Lance standing there with his Dragonite beside him. He had somehow been able to escape the brawl and make it to us. Yeah for Champions!

"Lance—!" I could only say his name before Proton muffled my mouth with his free hand.

"Shh…" he said as I tried to wriggle my way out of his grip. "Why don't you call out my name instead?"

I glanced at Lance, who was glaring at Proton with ice in his eyes. I shifted my gaze to Proton, who was glaring righ back with equal intensity. Two men whom I'd had a crush on since I started playing Pokémon were right here, fighting for me…I could swoon.

"Get your filthy hands off her," Lance said.

"I don't think you're in any position to tell me what to do, Champion." The Executive replied.

"If you don't heed my advice, know that I will crush you like I have my challengers. Make no mistake about that."

"Hmm…I think that's your ego talking. Winning so many times has made you cocky."

"Being cocky is your game, Proton."

"Oh is it now?"

"Let Ashley go!"

"I don't think I've had my fill of her yet…" I felt his body lean in closer to mine. His face was suddenly beside mine and I saw Proton's arm fall from my mouth and reach for my waist. My mouth hung open as he slowly licked up the left side of my face. I heard him moan softly as he planted a kiss on my cheek. I knew I was blushing so hard right now!

All I heard from Lance was an angry and terrifying growl as he said, "Dragonite, Hyper Beam!"

"Lance look out!" I shouted as I attempted to warn him of the looming weezing that hovered over his shoulder.

I was too late though, as the giant Pokémon slammed itself into his back, sending him sprawling onto the ground, unconscious.

"No way!" I shouted as Petrel came lumbering out from behind the weezing, a grin spread across his face. That smile disappeared however, when he noticed that Lance's dragonite hadn't stopped his attack. When the creature turned to look at its now defeated master, the hyper beam went shooting out of its mouth and hurtling into a building to my right. I screamed as it made contact and fell right in front of us. Strangely, though, it didn't have time to hit the ground, because the portal immediately sucked it up.

"It works!" Archer yelled happily. "Now we will glorify Giovanni and his magnificence in all ways!" His gaze then settled on me and I squeaked in fear. He began walking towards me. "Now, you will obey me and you will lead us to a new era—an era of Team Rocket!"

It was then that everything dawned on me. Archer thought he was in control of this situation. To any by stander it would look like that. But to me, it was the complete opposite. I was the one pulling the strings. All this time I was able to defeat Team Rocket's schemes (to a degree) and protect the people I'd come to care about (well, mostly). If I could avoid becoming Team Rocket's indentured servant for this long, I could surely do it again. My drive was not only for my own freedom, but for the freedom of my world as well. No way was my world going to become a plaything for a man who didn't even know what my world was properly called!

"Well you know what I think?" I said as I turned my attention to my Pokémon, who glanced at me anxiously from their positions in the battle. "I think I'm tired of being stuck in a parallel dimension with you!"

I inclined my head towards the portal and all of my Pokémon flew or ran towards it. Each one unleashed their most powerful attacks directly at the portal. I hoped that the amount of force my Pokémon were exuding would be enough to stop its growth.

"No!" Archer screamed at the top of his lungs as the portal slowly began to shrink in size.

"I contradict with a yes!" I said happily.

"All of my perfect planning…ruined! I was to be the one Giovanni looked to. I was to be the one he held in admiration! Me! ME!"

"You?" I turned my head to see Ariana, who was crossing hr arms and looking at him spitefully. "Whatever happened to camaraderie?"

"Yeah, and there are four of us after all," added Petrel, who seemed to be equally as annoyed.

I turned to look at Proton, who looked confused over what was happening. Was he as shocked as the other Generals were to figure out that Archer was going to use their entire scheme to rule the world by Giovanni's side on his own? I mean, I didn't expect him to go completely wacko, but the man certainly didn't have all of his marbles in his messed up head. _Now that you know what a fraud Archer is, you can help me, Proton! And everyone else, too! Maybe?_

A loud crashing noise came from behind me and I screamed in terror as the portal began sucking in everything around it as it shrank. It felt like a hurricane was upon us, as strong winds rushed into the swirling vortex of doom. I could see everyone, including the Generals, returning their Pokémon.

"Get as far away from it as you can!" I heard Will yell. He was only a little ways away from me now, and I could see him shielding his face from the dirt and debris that the wind was picking up. I also noticed Brock and Ash were carrying a heavily wounded but now conscious Lance on their shoulders. "We need to evacuate, now!"

"Rockets, pull out! Everyone head to the outskirts of town!" Ariana commanded. Wow, even Team Rocket was pulling out! I couldn't believe that they were going against their interim head.

I bit my lip, knowing my Pokémon were still out and about. I saw them all struggling to keep their bearings on the ground. "C'mon guys, we've gotta go home!" I shouted as I returned all five back to their respective pokeballs. I sighed, knowing that they were safe from harm's way. Sadly, I couldn't say the same for myself.

Proton and I were by far the closest people to the portal and the wind was extremely hard to stand up against. At this point, Proton had let go of me and was returnign his Pokemon as well. I looked at him as he caught my gaze.

"What are you doing?" he said. "We have to go!"

I furrowed my brows in frustration. I knew that this portal could lead me home. That was why Archer had created it after all. I could feel this sort of pull to jump into it, like it was calling to me. It may have seemed like an instant death trap, but to me, I felt entranced by it. I wanted to go with him, I really did, but I missed my home so dearly that even my rational mind was fighting against the right decision.

"But, I could go home…" I whispered to myself as I stared deep into the vortex. I could feel my legs slowly starting to move towards it, like some kind of spirit was pulling me by an invisible string.

"Oh no you don't!" Archer said. He commanded his houndoom to use flamethrower, which barreled itself into me, sending me sprawling onto the ground and far away from the vortex. I cried out in pain as my body crumpled into itself. "You will stay here and I will recreate a new portal, a more stable one, in which I will rule both your world and this one! Giovanni will return and you will die in front of your family's eyes!" His maniacal laughter echoed loudly as he approached me menacingly.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled as I threw my arm in the air.

"I'll never leave you alone Ashley. In your thoughts, in your dreams, in your mind, I will always be there! It's time you—"

"—Listened to commands and stepped away from her!"

A purple blast of energy smashed into Archer's back and he was sent flying right over me. I gasped in shock and saw Proton and his golbat standing near me.

"Proton!" I said happily as he rushed over to me. He extended his arm towards me and I gratefully took it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"A few bruises and some emotional scars, but other than that, I'm just peachy."

"We have to get out of here. This thing is going to destroy everything in its path until it disappears."

"But…" I said sadly.

"What?"

"That could be my only way home, Proton. I can't stay here any longer. You know I don't belong."

He took my face in his hands and whispered, "You don't need to fit in here to be able to belong with me."

I gasped, surprised at the man's shocking sentiment. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."

"Well don't expect any more of it. That's all you're going to get."

I smiled. "Proton, I—"

All of a sudden I could feel myself being wrenched from his grasp as the portal's winds began to pick up. My body was flying through the air, towards the creepy vortex and I could see the Executive running to catch me.

"Ashley!" he called out.

"Proton! Find me again!"

"How?"

"Just do whatever you did a few weeks ago and it should work!"

He cringed and lifted his arm to his face to protect himself from the onslaught. It was then I could see a smile creep onto his face as he replied, "I'll find a way, doll face—even if I have to keep living up to my old nickname!"

"Proton!" I shouted as I was sucked into the swirling vortex. All around me I could hear the screams of sadness spin around me as I went toppling through what I could only assume to be space and time matter. Purple and black matter oozed everywhere, and I tried not to scream louder than I already was. Debris that had been sucked in previously floated around me. It felt like I was falling forever, and that I was in the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland, only I was spiraling back to reality not nonsensical other worlds. Eventually I saw a light at the end of the…tunnel? I suppose? Well, I knew that either meant death or home, so I extended my arm out to touch it and I felt as light as air.

xxXXxx

"Ashley, why are you screaming?"

My eyes flew open and I realized that I was sitting on my floor at home in almost the exact same spot I was in when I left, with my arm caressing the now fuzzy TV screen and my lips pressed against the glass. I glanced at my mom, who didn't seem mad at me anymore. Instead, she looked concerned. "I've been trying to get your door open for the past twenty minutes and you never answered me. I had to get your father's lock pick out. Are you feeling alright? Did you pass out?"

I blinked back my astonishment. What? My entire escapade in the Pokémon world had only lasted a meager twenty minutes here?! This was like some sort of trick out of the Narnia books! And…oh my gosh, I was just kissing the TV! She'll think I'm insane! What was I going to say that would convince my mom that I hadn't been romping about in a parallel dimension? "Yeah, I accidentally hit my head off of the TV. Guess I got too close." _That was the lamest excuse I've ever made in my entire life. _Ismiled, hoping my mom would just let it go.

She frowned a bit and said, "Well, alright, just so long as you're ok," With that she turned to leave. I sighed in relief. I was back! Home was beneath my toes and my butt! It felt absolutely wonderful to be back! I kissed my floor in happiness. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief! No more Team Rocket, no more crazy psycho-men, no more—

"Um, Ashley,"

I immediately recognized the voice as Hilary's, and sure enough, there she was, standing in my doorframe.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I stood up.

"Are you ok? Mommy says you hit your head."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Nothing to be worried about." I smiled.

"Ok," She turned to leave, but just as the door was closing on her and I was about to flop on my bed in happiness, she added a faint, "But why are you wearing a stripper dress?"

**A/N: Tis the end! Well, not quite. I've still got an epilogue and a bit of what I call bloopers still to come. I've really enjoyed writing this over the past three years and I'm happy all of you have come on this journey with me! Of course, you all know that the sequel to this story, Caught in Reality with Me, will be coming out soon. Check out my profile for up-to-date news on upload dates and recent updates. My thoughts on this chapter are this: Rule number one Archer. Don't mess with crap you can't control. It never turns out well. Like seriously, that guy was all over the place in the manga. There's this ridiculously hilarious panel where he's like skipping to the stage where Arceus is and then he gets knocked back and lands on Petrel! Proton's just backed up against the wall like "what the heck man?" and Ariana's screaming. Oh man. xD. What did you guys think? What do you think will happen in the sequel? So many questions! That will be answered…in due time! I hope to see you all in the actual end of SIAPDWY!**


	16. Old Episode, New Tricks (and Extras)

Epilogue

Old Episode, New Tricks (and Extras)

I sat at my desk in my room, typing away on my computer while an old episode of Pokémon blared away on my mini TV.

"Ashley, hon!" my mom yelled from what I could only assume was the living room. "What are you doing? We're gonna be late!"

I smiled and saved my work one last time. I scanned it over happily, pleased with the final work. What was I working on you ask? Well, I'd created a giant diary entry describing my events in the Pokémon world on my computer so I would never forget what happened to me during that wonderful yet terrifying time of my life. Thirty pages of detailed encounters, settings and people were crammed into a document known only as 'Twenty Minutes in Paradise'. Of course, I had to make sure that no one on the face of the planet ever saw it, so I saved it in a hidden folder on my hard drive and protected my laptop with a case-sensitive password. Do you wanna guess what it is? Seriously, take a gander. Nothing? Alright I'll give you a hint. It had to do with the sexy and confident Executive of Team Rocket that had professed his love for me just as I was being sucked into a swirly vortex of terror.

Well, ok, I know as well as you do that he didn't _actually_ say he liked me, but when a man tells you that you don't have to belong in a parallel dimension so long as you belonged with him does strongly hint at something other than a mutual respect for one another.

I knew that I would probably never see him again, even though I told him to find me. It had only been a few days since I'd been warped back to Earth, but I couldn't stop thinking of him. Like the way he looked at me, the way he said that he would live out his nickname of being scary and cruel in order to find me…ah, what a hunk.

I sighed happily as I closed my laptop. I remembered that my mom had called me to come downstairs and I knew I was coming; I just wanted to see my last episode of Pokémon here at home before I left.

I hadn't really been paying much attention to the episode, as I was too engrossed in finishing my last entry of my diary. When I focused my eyes on the screen, I was shocked to see that it was the same one that was playing at the time I was sucked into the Pokémon world! I blinked back my surprise as I saw the four generals and Ash and his friend at the warehouse I'd fallen into. The scenario was the same, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen now that I was back on earth?

"Just what are you guys up to anyways?" asked Brock.

"Our goals extend far beyond your comprehension. What you will understand is that our forced evolution of magikarp will allow our ideals to become a reality!" Archer said zealously. I could tell he hadn't changed a bit. He was still a crazed up fruit loop.

"But that's wrong!" cried Misty.

"Wrong? What's wrong is that you're getting in our way." Ariana hissed. Her vindictive attitude hadn't wavered either.

"And do you know what we do with pesky twerps like you?" Petrel said, a lop-sided smile spread across his face.

"Wh-what?" asked Ash.

I saw Proton step up and crack his knuckles menacingly. "We crush them."

I squeaked in awe as all four generals released their trademark Pokémon and loomed over the protagonists, laughing as they went in for the kill.

"Stop!" a voice yelled from behind the group. Everyone turned to see Champion Lance in the doorway with his dragonite in tow.

"Lance!" all three cried out in joy.

All of the Executives grunted in frustration as the red head came into the warehouse.

"Your nefarious plan at Lake of Rage has come to an end, Team Rocket!" said Lance as he commanded the dragonite to use hyper beam. It slammed into the executives Pokémon, sending them flying through the air. The Rockets hastily returned their Pokémon, staring icily at Lance.

"You may have won this time, Champion," said Archer as they began to back away from the protagonists. "But Team Rocket will never give up their goals of world domination!"

"Even if you keep trying to take over the world, there will always be people who will fight against you for their freedom." said Misty. Wow I didn't know that she could be so philosophical!

"While you may be right, kid, that doesn't mean we can't control what can be easily manipulated," Ariana spat.

"So long as we're here to stop you, you'll never succeed in taking over the world!" Ash said triumphantly as he fist-pumped the air. I groaned in annoyance.

But my annoyance quickly vanished when I noticed that Proton was looking at the camera—no, at me—and I could feel that familiar and embarrassing blush spread across my face like it used to when I ran into him.

"We may not be able to take over this world, but we always have a back-up plan," He winked at the camera, licked his lips and added, "don't we Ashley?"

His smiling eyes were the last thing I could see before I fainted in bliss.

**A/N: Now I really want to write Ashley's diary entries. Maybe it could be a side fic. I've also been thinking about writing side stories that accompany SIAPDWY and CIRWM. One idea was a Phantom of the Opera play with Proton as the Phantom and Lance as Raoul. Or I was thinking about writing a story based on the ending of CIRWM (which will be months from now, lemme tell you). I don't know, I'll need to mull it over and see if you guys would be interested in reading it at all. I've really loved writing this story and I'm happy that I'm not done with it yet. Lemme know what you guys think! The only thing I know changed over the past three years is my lack of grammar and spelling mistakes! And now, ladies and gents please enjoy the bloopers section! This is very sparse but very funny!**

**From chapter 4, after Morty says that Ashley was hit by Proton:**

Eusine pulled on a pair of sunglasses and a trench coat and said, "She's been hit by *DUN DUN* she's been struck by *DUN* a smooth criminal!"

**From chapter 12, in the cells under the Radio Tower:**

"He posed as you, and I was so desperate to find you that I blew my cover, even though he acted nothing like you." Said Lance.

"Figures," I laughed. "No one can get this girl's swagger right."

"What swagger?" Myla sassed.

"I've got the mooooooves like Swagger!" I said as I did the moonwalk down the hallway.

**From chapter 14 after the vortex appears:**

Archer said, "It works! My time machine works—"

A Stegosaurus suddenly appeared from nowhere and crushed him under his foot and proclaimed, "I AM A STEGOSAURUS!"

Haine-chan's Favourite Moments and Random Facts

The series' theme song is Scarlet by BRACE;d. I would listen to it and immediately think of this story. I also imagine this story as an anime and this would be the opening song. I would love it if someone animated a trailer for this…:3

In "Fate is a Touchy Subject", Ashley tells Madame Martha that her name is Georgie Henley. That's the real life name of the _Chronicles of Narnia_ actor. She played Lucy.

The characters I like writing the most would be Lance, Proton, Ashley (of course), Silver (for the little time he was there) and Petrel. The characters I didn't really like writing were Ariana, Lyra and *sometimes* Archer. I mean before he went crazy. That was too fun to watch.

I apologize for the mixing up of the Executives names at random points in the narrative. I kept changing them for some reason.

**My favourite part of the story, hands down, was this excerpt from chapter 10:**

"L-Lambda?" I said as I regained my footing.

The purple-haired man in question laughed maniacally as he leaned his head on his hand. "My my, what do we have here? A little girl who's lost her way? Didn't your parents ever tell you to stay away from strangers?"

"And didn't your parents ever tell you to stay away from little girls?" I sassed.

"Ooh, what a temper. I think you're due for a spanking."

"I never was one for rules, and this is no exception!"

**Oh man. Gooooood times.**

**Some honourable mentions:**

"And what are we to do? Sit around here waiting and sipping our Darjeeling till they get here?" Myla said.

"There is no 'maybe' here, Ashley," Proton said, looking me in the eye. "It's either you're with m—us or you're not." (At first I thought this was a typo and then I realized it was intentional).

And then he left. Poof, just like that. Un-Archer-like? A lot. This didn't seem right, but I didn't say anything.

He turned around and fished into a basket that contained towels and washcloths. He tossed me one and said, "If you'd like, I could chaperone you."

"Perv." I hurried into the room and quickly slammed the door.

_This is perfect! Now all I have to do is run in, grab someone's clean clothes and come back! But wouldn't the Executives notice if I wasn't wearing my old clothes? Bah, why do I care? They're coercing me into becoming a tool for destruction anyways, might as well have some fun in someone else's threads!_

**My best preview definitely has to be Proton's at the end of chapter 10. Oooohhh it was so fun to write!**

_Hey, kiddies, Proton here. Finally, after dozens of failed attempts, we now have Ashley in our hands. Most of the others are happy solely because our grand plan of total domination will come to fruition. I, on the other hand, am happy for another reason; I finally have her alone. And if she doesn't comply with either of us, we always have a little trick up our sleeves to make her. She may not know it, but her potential is something that we could have never expected. And if her "friendship" gets in the way…well, let's just say I'm not called the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket for nothing. And if I hear you squeal to her about what I've just said, then you'll be in for a world of pain. But you can keep a secret, right?_

**This story is hands down one of my best pieces of work to date on fanfiction. Even though I've made some mistakes and continuity errors, the plot and the witty rhetoric it pretty awesome. I keep reading it over and thinking, I wrote that? Wow! And you guys have really helped my progress by being awesome. I'm really sad that this has to end, but of course, there is more and it makes me happy to know that I can continue on with this story and writing Ashley the way she's meant to be. And b****ecause you've been waiting so patiently and have been so awesome, here's a bunch of quotes from Caught in Reality with Me! All of which will be included in the story. Don't forget to watch for CIRWM's upload! Thanks again for reviewing and coming along for the ride! Enjoy! ;)**

"_Proton? What are you doing in my room?" "It's De_von_." "Why would you contain such a wonderful creature in such a disgusting creation like that? It's inhumane to me." "Um…nice dragon…" "Your strength…Show it to me!" "Don't leave me!" "If I can save the world in twenty minutes, imagine what I can do in day!" "You try my patience; make your choice, Ashley!" "Miss me babe?" "You know nothing of my anguish! You are still a child." "I think I'll need a night to sleep on it." "You look absolutely beautiful!" "There is a power hidden deep inside of you, just waiting to be released." "I just don't know what I want anymore." "Why can't I have more me-time, even in my own world?"_


End file.
